Fortress World
by Electron Beam
Summary: Humanity has been pushed to the brink of extinction by the Heartless. Their last hope is the world of Aegis, where Sora and Kairi now reside. They lived in peace for several years, but a Gummi ship crash shatters the delicate calm... AU.
1. Landing

1: Landing

Inside the control room, the Gummi ship was merely a blinking green dot on the radar screen. To the untrained eye, it was a blip with numbers and letters nearby. To the radar operator, however, it gave a detailed picture of the Gummi ship, showing speed, direction, and other vital pieces of data, which is why he was worried.

Outside the control room, a streak of fire punctuated the otherwise calm night sky. The Gummi ship had entered the atmosphere at far too steep an angle, and now it was decelerating too quickly. The pilot couldn't maintain control under the pressure of the bone-cracking G-forces. The ship groaned and shuddered as the wings were sheared off in the fire of reentry.

The pilot kept his cool, though. No sense in panicking now; it would only get them killed. He let go of the joystick. Maybe he could pull them out of their dive once they got to a lower speed. Once his hands were off of the stick, the ship rolled, applying even more G-force to the passengers and pilot. One passenger blacked out from the intense pressure. The others screamed as flames engulfed the outside of the cockpit. They were in full reentry now.

As the air thickened, the flames and pressure became even more intense. The pilot strained to keep conscious as he glanced at the reentry timer. In forty more seconds, the radio would become operable again. If he could stay alert for that long, the guys on the ground would be able to talk him out of this dive. All he could do was hope the fuel wouldn't ignite and turn what was left of his ship into a fireball eight miles above the ground.

Back in the control room, the radar operator was still mildly worried. These kind of things happened all the time. Some poor saps would find a Gummi ship and try to flee the Heartless. Someone would give them the proper coordinates, and the warp would go smoothly, provided the occupants could add. A small percentage of ships ended up warping into the heart of a star because nobody on board could do the basic warp calculations.

The greater danger was reentry. So many inexperienced pilots flew their ships into the atmosphere way too steeply. It always ended up that they fell like a rock. All anyone else could do was hope they missed the major population centers. Recently, in the wake of a particularly deadly crash in a densely populated urban area, there was talk awhile back about shooting down "rogues," as they were known, with surface-to-air missiles, but people rejected the idea immediately. There was always the chance somebody may get lucky. Not to mention that they were supposed to be _attracting_ people, not driving them away.

Onboard the Gummi ship, the fire had cooled from a blazing white to a cooler yellow-orange. The jarring shudders had decreased somewhat, and the G-forces had begun to subside. Soon the fire would dissipate completely, and the pilot could attempt a crash-landing somewhere. The odds of surviving a well-executed crash-landing were fairly good; about 80% of victims walked away with no permanent damage. But then again, most of them at least had their wings.

Finally, the sheath of flames disappeared entirely, and the ship was in normal free-fall. The pilot radioed the regional Air Traffic Control room on the distress frequency.

"This is the _Origami_! Mayday! Mayday! Losing altitude fast! Roll controls are unresponsive!"

The radio hissed and responded quickly. "_Aegis RATC here. _Origami, _pull up at rate two degrees per second._"

The pilot complied, gently pulling the stick back. Sure enough, the nose of the ship gradually drifted up. He felt himself becoming giddy with excitement. _I just may make it!_

"Origami, _increase thrust to fifty percent._"

Gradually pushing the throttle forward, the pilot felt the acceleration pushing him into the back of his seat. He watched as his rate of climb gauge slowly inched its way out of the negative numbers. In mere seconds, it would become zero and he'd be in controlled flight.

"Hey, it's working! It's working!" He turned to his remaining conscious passengers and began to shout.

"We're gonna make it! We're gonna-"

***

The phone rang loudly on the table next to Sora's bed. He awoke slowly, rubbing his eyes and yawning. Looking at the phone in disgust, he growled vague threats to the caller. He had specifically instructed them not to call him at night except in emergencies. This had better be good.

He held the handset to his head. "Uh, what?"

The voice on the other side of the line sounded urgent and official. "_You're needed at a crash site. It's about twenty miles north of Anchor Point City._"

Sora groaned. "A crash? Crashes happen all the time. They're almost more common than landings. What's so special about this one?"

"_The pilot worked for a commercial Gummi transport line._"

That caught Sora's attention. Commercial Gummi pilots were second only to military aviators in skill and training. Not to mention that most commercial pilots were ex-military, anyway. Many of them were also incredibly arrogant. Sora tended to avoid them. But skill is skill. No company would hire a pilot that would drive his ship into the ground during reentry. There must be a good reason.

"Where exactly is this crash site?"

"_A car has already been sent. Is Kairi awake?_"

Sora glanced over his shoulder. There, sleeping peacefully, was the red-haired girl of his dreams. His heart fluttered as his eyes found the diamond ring on her left hand, which was holding the covers close to her petite body. Sora still smiled every time he thought of how lucky he was to have wed Kairi.

"_Sora?_"

He snapped out of his daze and quickly replied. "No. She's still asleep."

"_Alright, then let her stay that way. Come alone._"

Sora mumbled a quiet affirmative and sat up on his bed. He rubbed his temples gently and shook his head to ward off sleep. He rose slowly, making sure not to disturb Kairi. Gently opening his closet, he threw on a simple long-sleeve shirt and pants. He also picked out a hooded vest for good measure. The nights on Aegis got cold.

He was about to leave the room when he remembered something. Opening the drawer in his nightstand, he scribbled a quick note to Kairi, so she wouldn't panic when she woke up alone. He described the situation and put the note on his pillow, giving Kairi an ever-so-light kiss on the forehead.

As he descended the stairs outside his bedroom, he continued his mumbling of vague threats, this time directed at the pilot who managed to crash at two o'clock in the morning. Why did the majority of crashes happen at night? Couldn't people crash during, say, the afternoon? Maybe late morning?

Looking out his front windows, Sora saw no black government car there, so he quietly shuffled into the kitchen. After he put two pieces of bread in the toaster, he opened a window for some fresh air. The sound of crashing waves filled his ears and a salty smell wafted into his nose. No matter what world he was on, he was at home near the ocean.

However, there had always been that nagging voice in the back of his head that reminded him that this was not the shoreline of the Destiny Islands. Those had vanished years ago.

Soon after Sora and Riku had defeated Xemnas, the completion and subsequent opening of Kingdom Hearts took its toll. The millions of hearts that had poured out of it became millions of Heartless. The millions became billions, and the billions became trillions. There was no conclusive estimate as to the number of Heartless that swarmed through the universe. They came in droves, making the previous two organized efforts they had taken pale in comparison to the unstoppable tide of darkness that swept across the universe.

In the following years, thousands of worlds fell. It got so bad that people began to flee worlds at the first sign of the Heartless rather than try to mount a futile defense. The greatest and proudest militaries retreated immediately in the face of a Heartless attack. Even the Keybearers, the most feared humans in the universe, couldn't save their beloved islands. It seemed that humanity was doomed to run from the Heartless until there was nowhere else to run. Nobody wanted to talk about what happened after the last world fell.

Among the crushing defeats that most worlds suffered, there was a single victory. When the Heartless found the world of Aegis, they wasted no time in carrying out their normal pattern of attack. But for some reason, the Heartless were weaker on Aegis than any other world. The various nations' militaries, who were already engaged in a brutal world war, beat back the assault after months of fierce fighting.

When word spread that a world had survived a Heartless invasion, refugees fled there by the millions. A world that had been home to less than seven hundred million people suddenly ballooned to a world of over ten billion individuals. If people weren't united by a common fear of the Heartless, the mixture of cultures, races, and technologies from various worlds would have disintegrated in days.

Over time, Aegis lost contact with the other worlds, one by one, until there were almost no worlds left to contact. The population was stuck there. Society was restructured into a highly military one: service was compulsory from eighteen to twenty-two, regardless of race, sex, or creed. A one o'clock curfew was strictly enforced. The police were integrated as a special branch of the terrestrial Army. The Navy and Marine Corps split into two branches: terrestrial and space-borne. The only branch to remain relatively unchanged was the Air Force, but they got more space-related projects.

The governments of Aegis united under a strong centralized federal government that was based off of an island in the middle of the largest ocean to prevent more infighting over which ex-nation got the Capital on their turf. For the most part, people were happy with the government. The curfew angered some people, but there was little anyone could do. There was legal precedent and clear need for the population to remain organized.

The relative calm was shattered when news spread that Sora and Kairi were going to live on Aegis after the Destiny Islands were destroyed. The government had made extraordinarily generous offers of large mansions and highly trained security forces for them, but the young couple made it clear that all they wanted was a house on a nice beach.

And so Sora stood in his government-donated kitchen, waiting for his toast to finish cooking. The smell of seared bread mixed pleasantly with the salty ocean air. Within minutes, two pieces of golden-brown toast popped up from the shiny toaster. Sora set them on a plate and spread thick, creamy butter over them. He was about to take a large bite out of one when he saw headlights in his driveway.

He set the toast on a napkin and opened the front door. A black-suited man was about to ring the doorbell just as Sora walked out. He took a bite of his toast and cocked his head at the man. "What's with the sunglasses, Agent J? It's dark out."

"Standard procedure, sir. The car is waiting for you. Right side back seat, please."

Sora walked to the door and opened it, toast in hand. He sat down next to a uniformed soldier with a cap under his arm. The man smiled as Sora's door was closed by the agent.

"Good to see you again, Sora."

He extended his hand, which Sora shook. "Same here, General Harris."

Harris was easily the youngest general on Aegis, let alone the Air Force. He had climbed in the ranks quickly, thanks to his ingenious method of launching and placing sensor satellites without the use of rockets or cargo-capable Gummi ships, which saved the Air Force a lot of money. By the time he was twenty-nine years old, he was in command of the entire Tenth Air Force, which was dedicated to space-based weaponry and Gummi operations. One of his less glamorous jobs was overseeing odd Gummi ship crash investigations.

The general looked at Sora's toast and sniffed. "Mind if I have a piece? I didn't eat."

"Yeah, sure. Here." Sora handed Harris one of his pieces of toast. The general accepted it and took a large bite.

"Mm. Is this Black Stone Bakery?" Sora nodded, his mouth full of toast. Harris nodded in agreement.

The car accelerated down the road, almost causing Sora to lose the last bit of his toast. The general stuffed the rest of his toast into his mouth and chewed laboriously. After a few silent seconds, he swallowed and turned to Sora.

"Okay, so here's the situation. At 0145 hours this morning, our sensor grid detects an inbound warp. A Gummi ship appeared on the scopes and requested permission for an immediate landing. The pilot sent us this in an encrypted packet along with his request."

The general handed Sora a manila folder. Inside the front cover was a dossier of the pilot, including his employment history. Sora flipped through the pages, not noting anything especially odd. "What's so special about this?"

Harris flipped back to the second page. "This is the medical history of one of his passengers. Anything stand out to you?"

Sora skimmed over the document until he reached the final entry. He read it aloud.

"Multiple contusions, claw marks, blunt trauma… Sounds like a Heartless attack."

The general nodded. "It was. Apparently, she was being flown here for treatment. Her husband was a close personal friend of the pilot, and he agreed to fly her here once the local hospital stabilized her. She could be considered the lucky one in this crash." Sora looked up at the general, confused. "She was killed by the G-forces before the ship hit the ground. But her medical history is only one part of the puzzle."

"Apparently, the regional Air Traffic Control center was able to talk the pilot out of his nose dive. Their records indicate that he was slowly regaining control of his craft when suddenly he spun out of control again and crashed in a field. We don't know much, but there is no evidence of structural failure after atmospheric insertion. He was able to stay aloft just barely because of his smaller maneuvering Gummis. We need to find out why this seemingly stable ship just plummeted into the ground."

Sora contemplated the general's words. In his six years of flying Gummi ships, he had never heard of one suddenly and inexplicably losing control. "What do you think happened?"

Harris laughed. "You mean expert opinions?" He pointed at Sora. "You're going to be the first. Who wants to get up this early to investigate a crash?" The general laughed as Sora scowled at him.

***

"Wow."

That was the only thing Sora could say. The sight before him was incredible. In a massive field that stretched for miles, there were burning pieces of the Gummi ship. They were strewn about in a pattern that suggested the ship had crashed at an oblique angle and spread the wreckage forward. The main hulk of the ship, including the cockpit and three engines, was surrounded by fire-fighting crews. The smaller pieces were being doused by volunteers armed with fire extinguishers. It was quite a sight.

Sora and Harris began to walk towards the remainder of the cockpit. "So, what have you told the public so far, General?" Sora asked.

Harris raised an eyebrow at him. "It's two thirty in the morning, Sora. Everyone's asleep. Later, however, the top Air Force spokesman and I will make a statement explaining whatever we find out here. So let's get started."

They arrived at the cockpit, which was still burning near the engines. One firefighter handed a small orange box to Harris and returned to his work. Sora cocked his head. "What is that, General?"

Harris smiled, satisfied with his luck. "That, Sora, is the inappropriately named black box, otherwise known as the Cockpit Data Recorder. It should tell us everything that happened on board before the crash. But at the speed this thing was last traveling, we're lucky to get it back."

The general waved to a group of black-clad agents, who walked brusquely towards them. One of them produced a small screen, which plugged into the black box. A menu appeared on the screen. Harris touched the VIDEO option, and a grainy color video of the cockpit appeared. Harris moved the video forward to reentry. They watched as the pilot struggled against the incredible G-forces.

Harris stopped the video about halfway through the reentry, pointing to one of the passengers. "Look here. She blacks out right now, and later…" He moved the video forward. "… she dies right about… now." The body of the unfortunate passenger was still limp in her seat. "Now whatever happens next should be the key to – oh, no."

Sora saw it too. Even the agents showed some signs of surprise. The woman had vanished. In her place was a Shadow. The other passengers and the pilot were completely oblivious as the small black being wrestled its way out of the oversized restraints and crept up behind the pilot. As it was about to pounce, the pilot turned around and began to shout with joy. The Shadow jumped and began to attack the pilot, who was helpless to resist in his restraints.

The pilot fell limply away from the camera as the Heartless was lifted off of the ground by the sudden return of free fall. It seemed to be drowning in midair until the feed was cut. No more video played. There was only static.

Everyone stared at the small screen, mouths agape. Sora was, uncharacteristically, the first one to break the silence.

"That… That… is _not_ normal. Heartless can't do that! She was attacked hours earlier! If your wounds are treated, you don't become a Heartless when you die!"

Harris shook his head slowly. "Apparently, the Heartless have changed their game."

***

INCOMING TRANSMISSION

…

BEGIN DECRYPTION

…

…

…

DECRYPTION COMPLETE. CONTENTS:

Report: Sensor Satellite 0241 _Euclid_

Status: All Systems Green

Priority: Standard

/ALERT!

/ANOMALOUS MASS DETECTED

RANGE: 20,000,000 km

MASS: 300,000 kg

COMPOSITION:

99.87% Hydrogen (G)[Diatomic]

00.13% Helium (G)

CONCLUSION: PRIMORDIAL HYDROGEN CLOUD

RECOMMENDATION: ARCHIVE DATA AND IGNORE

/TRANSMISSION COMPLETE

/ARCHIVING… COMPLETE

/TERMINATING CONNECTION

…

…


	2. Press Conference

2. Press Conference

Had the sky been clear, dawn would have just broken over the crash site. All of the fires had been extinguished, so most of the volunteers had gone home. The police had set up a temporary fence around the entire area to keep out the locals, who had begun to gather at the edge of the field. News crews had just started their on-the-scene broadcasts from right next to the police barricade. One crew went around pestering Air Force officers for information, but every one of them had "no comment."

Sora made a mental note to thank the police for getting the fence put up so quickly. He couldn't stand being hounded by the media at his every turn. It was especially bad when he was somehow involved in a recent event, such as being near a car crash or attending local summer festivities.

Or being on-site at a suspicious Gummi ship crash.

He had spent the last few hours going over the data provided by the black box. He was exhausted, cold, and hungry, but he had come to a conclusion. The pilot had entered the atmosphere at too steep of an angle, likely in an effort to save precious time for his wounded passenger. However, the small ship hadn't handled the violent atmospheric transition well, and the maneuvering Gummis failed early in reentry.

That much was obvious. What was odd was the fact that the ship had very nearly recovered and then plowed into a soybean field soon after. Sora and General Harris were debating whether or not to tell the public immediately.

"The Air Force has a reputation of honesty, Sora. I don't want to lose it over one crash."

"I know; it's just… what will people think? Will they lose their minds when it seems that the Heartless are back with a vengeance? Maybe we should look into this some more before we tell everyone."

Harris sighed. "We could do that, but what purpose would it serve? All we'd find is more evidence pointing to the Heartless. If we tell them that there was a crash caused by the Heartless, they'll be more ready if the Heartless actually are attacking. Ready…readier? More ready? Which one is it?"

Shrugging, Sora allowed a small smile to creep across his face. "I wouldn't know. If you ask Kairi, it's a miracle that I can read."

The general smirked at Sora's comment. "Yeah, that sounds like her. But seriously, we need to make a decision soon. The media will be attacking us if we don't divulge some information at some point."

Sighing, Sora could see that there was no point in keeping secrets anymore. "Alright. I can't find any more arguments against it. Do you need me to go on camera with you?"

Harris shook his head. "No, all I need is an official statement from you as an expert on Gummi ships. Here, I'll get you some paper."

As if summoned by an invisible signal, an agent appeared next to the general with a notepad and a black pen. Sora accepted them and began to write his conclusions down. When he finished, he tore the page out and handed it to Harris.

"There you have it. Wings ripped off in the upper atmosphere. G-forces killed passenger, who turned into a Heartless soon after. Pilot was about to make a recovery when he was killed by the Heartless. Supersonic impact killed everything on board, human or not. That's all we know."

The general skimmed over Sora's messily written note. "Alright, this should cover us for at least a couple of days. Thanks again, Sora. I'll have a car take you home." The agent escorted Sora to another black government car and opened the door for him. As he took his seat, he noticed the crowd along the fence had grown considerably in the early-morning hours. The news crews had Sora especially worried. He leaned up next to the driver.

"Um, is it okay if you don't take me through-?"

"We're heading out of here on the opposite side from the crowd. This is as close as they'll get." As he finished his sentence, the driver pressed on the accelerator and the car lurched forward, bouncing over the rough dirt and plants. Sora looked out the back window with satisfaction. That crowd wasn't going to annoy him today. He sat back in his seat, shifted a bit, and fell asleep.

***

Kairi was only vaguely aware that something was different about her room. In her in-between state, her senses couldn't identify exactly what was different, but she was certain that something had changed overnight. She opened her eyes slowly. Well, if something had changed, it wasn't the ceiling. It was the same light yellow drywall that had been there for three years.

She clenched her hand and felt the blanket's soft fabric in her palm. The sheets hadn't been pulled off, which accounted for a good deal of her "different" feelings. Something was definitely off-base.

Pulling herself up, the source of her feeling became instantly clear. She was alone in her bed. Where Sora's spiky brown hair should have been, there lay a small piece of folded paper. She reached over and opened the note, recognizing Sora's sloppy handwriting. When she finished the note she groaned and fell back onto her pillow.

_Got a call around 2 this morning._

_Gummi crash near Anchor Point City._

_May be late in coming home._

_Love you._

_Sora_

Last time he was called out to investigate a crash, it had taken him fourteen hours to get home again. But then again, he had taken her to a very nice dinner later that evening, so maybe this wasn't so bad, after all.

Her spirits lightened by the thought of reimbursement later that day, Kairi swung her legs over the edge of her bed and stood, wondering what to wear that day. Unlike Sora, there was no "throwing something on" for Kairi. She took her appearances very seriously every day, whether her plan was to go to the city with Selphie and Olette, have everyone over for a barbeque, or merely sit around all day doing nothing. How Sora could not care about his clothing was a mystery to her.

After ten minutes had passed, Kairi walked out of her room, satisfied with her appearance. Just as she was walking down the staircase, she saw a black government car pull into the driveway. She looked at a clock. 7:15. This was… early. Oh well. She'd likely get an excited explanation from Sora.

Unlocking the front door, she waited for the car door to open. When it didn't, she saw the driver turn around in his seat and reach into the back. Soon after, a groggy Sora appeared from the car, still yawning. He shook his head, making his hair twist around and spring back to its normal state. Kairi had always liked it when Sora did that. For some reason, she found it very humorous. If he was close enough to her, it ended up tickling her face. And, if she was precisely the correct distance away, she swore she could hear a faint whistling.

She giggled as her sleepy husband almost lost his balance as he stepped onto the concrete drive. It was a mystery to both of them as to how Sora could perform stunning combat maneuvers with the Keyblade and still manage to have trouble balancing sometimes.

As Sora stumbled into the house, Kairi barely managed to catch him as he fell once again. She lifted him to his feet and looked at his clothes with disapproval.

"Oh, you're all dusty again, Sora. And what's that smell?"

"Burning soybeans and Gummi ship fuel."

Kairi held her nose and laughed as she turned away. "It's terrible! You are _not_ coming in this house smelling like that!"

Sora raised an eyebrow. "Then what do you want me to do? I have to come inside somehow."

Searching her mind for a suitable changing location, Kairi settled on the garage. She pointed with her free hand, still holding her nose closed. "In there. I'll bring you some new clothes. When you change, make sure to let these ones air out. We don't want a repeat of the molasses plant incident."

"You loved that smell!"

Kairi put her hands to her hips. "It was only good for the first two days. After a week it was too much. Plus, you didn't smell like rotten dairy substitute in an oil refinery. I'll have your clothes in a moment." She turned and rushed up the stairs, eager to get away from the terrible smell her husband had brought home.

Sora, on the other hand, stood in the doorway, perplexed. "She told me I smelled like a gingerbread cookie. How could she get sick of that smell?"

***

Once Sora had changed into the outfit Kairi had tastefully selected for him, he had gone straight to the couch and fallen asleep. Suspicious of her husband's idea of letting his garments "air out", Kairi had gone to the garage to find Sora's old clothes lying in a pile near the large two-car door. Even though he was twenty-one, he was still incredibly lazy.

Kairi went to pull her shirt over her nose only to discover that she was wearing a V-neck. She rummaged around the garage until she found a bandana along with some of Sora's old playthings he was saving in a plastic trash bag for any future family the couple might decide to have. She tied it around her head, allowing it to cover her nose and mouth.

Satisfied that her nose was sufficiently shielded, she set about hanging Sora's clothes onto various things around the garage. When she was finished, she opened the garage door just enough to allow some fresh air in. As she went to put the bandana away in the bag, she heard the sound of metal hitting concrete.

She looked down and saw the toy revolver the three friends had used when they played Outlaws. Memories flooded back to her. She usually ended up playing the damsel in distress while Riku or Sora played the villainous desperado and the other played the heroic town sheriff. But they allowed her to wield the toy gun occasionally, and she was _ruthless_. She liked to hit the innocent shopkeeper on the head if he didn't comply with her demands immediately.

Holding the toy out in front of her, she pretended to aim at a young Sora, who had his hands in the air, a look of faux fright on his face. As she pretended to take bags of money from him, the older Sora opened the garage door and saw Kairi wearing the bandana over her face and wielding the revolver in a frightening pose.

He suppressed a laugh at the childish scene in front of him. "Oh no, is Outlaw Kairi here to steal all my money?"

She turned to the garage door, revolver in hand. "I just might."

"I just might let you." Sora winked, making Kairi blush. She was thankful that it was mostly hidden by the bandana. "I just hope the town sheriff is close enough to save me!"

A hush fell over the couple. Sora felt his heart sink. Kairi lowered the gun and put the bandana and the toy weapon back in the plastic bag. Breaking the silence once more, Sora began to explain his presence to Kairi.

"Harris is coming on TV in ten minutes to make a statement. I thought that, you know… you should probably hear it, because, uh… you'll probably get dragged into this one, too. So… I'm… yeah. Okay." He turned and left the garage, Kairi following quickly behind him.

The press conference had just begun once they sat on the couch. General Harris and a spokesman were fielding questions from reporters.

"What caused the crash?"

The spokesman looked at Harris, who gave a small nod. Turning back towards the crowd, he said, "A Heartless on board attacked and killed the pilot at an altitude of approximately fourteen thousand feet."

The crowd murmured amongst themselves. The Heartless? There hadn't been an incident in almost ten months. People were beginning to believe the worst was over. Another reporter took advantage of the commotion to ask his own question. "How did the Heartless get on board? Did it stow away?"

"One of the passengers had suffered injuries from a Heartless attack earlier. The intense G-forces of uncontrolled reentry killed her mid-flight. She transformed into a Heartless just as the pilot managed to regain some measure of control of the ship."

At this, the crowd completely lost control. People began shouting questions left and right.

"What consequences does this have for Gummi travel?"

"Will you be updating the Orbital Defense Network to cope with this new threat?"

"Is there any current research into this 'zombie Heartless' phenomenon?"

"Does this mean that the Heartless have evolved?"

Harris saw the crowd losing control and decided to step up. "Alright, settle down. _Settle down!_ We can't have a panic erupt in here.

"As far as we can tell, this is an isolated incident. There is no evidence to support any theories at the moment, but we have no reason to believe this is a widespread phenomenon. There are no reports of it happening on the remaining worlds we're in contact with. If it really was an isolated occurrence, all potential vectors for further 'infection' were destroyed in the crash.

"Now, there are people in this room who have survived Heartless attacks. None of you are in danger. This goes for anyone who has been a victim of a Heartless attack in the past: don't go clogging our hospitals by demanding a checkup. You're not going to become a Heartless.

"As for the consequences this has on Gummi travel, we will be taking the necessary precautions against letting anyone who has been a victim of a recent Heartless attack go directly to the surface. They will dock with an ODN platform and undergo a comprehensive physical before they are allowed to land. However, we lack the manpower to step up patrols without hard evidence that this is a true threat to Aegis.

"Bottom line here: Take this at face value. There was a Gummi ship crash. They happen _all the time_. The only reason anyone is taking interest in this is because of the connection it has to the Heartless. There is no evidence to connect this to an increase in Heartless activity in the area. If evidence does surface, we will adjust our stance accordingly. That is all."

With that, the general picked up his papers, put his cap on, and walked off-camera.

***

"We'd love to, Kairi! We may be a little late, though. Friday's the day we go cake tasting, so we might be as late as seven. Will that work? Okay. Should I bring anything? Bottle of wine, perhaps? Okay, if you say so. I'll se you there. Bye!"

Olette hung up the phone and smiled. Even while wrapped up in the biggest crash investigation in Aegis history, Sora and Kairi could still have a barbecue with their friends. She wasn't completely sure how they could keep enough time open for it. Maybe these things were more important to islanders. Maybe they were just insane.

Whatever the reason, it lifted Olette's spirits considerably. Hayner had spent all day indulging in paranoid fantasies that the Heartless were going to invade again, which was beginning to annoy her. She had put her foot down when he began making Molotov cocktails in the kitchen. Yes, Hayner, fire is effective against Heartless. That doesn't mean you need to go making bombs in our kitchen! Are you insa- no, don't answer that. And wipe that grin off your face.

She sighed. As charming as her fiancé could be, he was _completely_ paranoid. While it was irritating more often than not, it had saved them once before. In the middle of the night, he had awoken to a tapping noise outside their apartment window. Olette had assured him it was just pigeons. But Hayner, being paranoid, investigated with a butterfly knife in his hand. When he exited his room, he found a pair of thieves attempting to pick the lock on the balcony door.

So now Hayner had something most paranoiacs would kill for: proof that his insanity was not just his mind playing tricks on him. Unfortunately, he always used that incident as justification for his irrational actions. But homemade firebombs were too much. He had seen the press conference. There was nothing to be worried about.

She walked out of the kitchen to find Hayner drinking a beer, looking into the last rays of sunset. As she sat down next to him, he set the bottle on the table. He looked back and forth between Olette and the sunset before laughing quietly.

"What is it?"

"You match the sunset. You're both very orange." He brought the bottle to his mouth and tilted his head back, draining the remaining contents. He set the empty vessel on the ground and leaned back in his chair. "And very pretty."

Olette blushed and tried to hide it with a quick scowl. "Are you drunk?"

"This one here's numero uno."

"Good, because you need to remember this. We're going to Sora and Kairi's for a barbecue after cake tasting on Friday. So try not to completely fill up on cake. All you need is a sample. Don't go trying to steal entire slices."

Hayner grinned. "When have you ever known me to overeat?" Seeing Olette's look, he quickly amended his statement. "Okay, when have you known me to overeat when Sea Salt Ice Cream isn't involved? Besides, Sora's barbecue is amazing. I don't get it. The guy can barely tie his own shoes, and he can cook a full slab of ribs to absolute perfection."

The couple shared a laugh at their friend's expense. They both looked back out over the sea, where the sun had just dipped below the horizon. The stars were beginning to emerge overhead. Though it was only nine thirty, the city was beginning to slow down for the day. Traffic noise gradually died down, police sirens were less frequent, and there were fewer jets in the air, civilian or military. This was one city that did sleep.

Olette leaned over and gave Hayner a small kiss on the cheek. He was about to return it when a light in the sky caught his attention. He pointed it out to his fiancé.

"Look, Olette. It's a shooting star. Make a wish, quick!"

She was about to wish that Pence wouldn't be busy on Friday night when she noticed that the shooting star was lasting a really long time. In fact, it looked like it might crash into the ocean.

Both of them watched as the streak of flame impacted on the water several miles from shore. Within minutes, the area was surrounded by Navy ships, helicopters, and news crews, both airborne and in smaller civilian ships. As they watched in awe, Hayner vocalized the fear that had gripped them both.

"Oh, no. Another one."


	3. Standard Operating Procedures

3. Standard Operating Procedures

For the second time that day, Sora was awoken by the phone ringing. This time, however, he couldn't help but to awaken Kairi, as she had fallen asleep on his shoulder. He got up from the couch and answered the phone, praying it wasn't the Air Force calling.

"Hello?"

"_Sora, it's Harris._" So much for that_,_ Sora thought. The general continued. "_We've had a bit of a problem._"

"What do you mean?"

"_We had to shoot down a Gummi ship that tried to go straight to the surface. We had ordered it to dock with one of our ODN platforms, but it went straight past our sentries. It crashed about ten minutes ago_."

Sora groaned. "Am I going to have to go to another crash investigation?"

The general laughed. "_No, you'd be hard pressed to get on-site to this one, Sora. It went down in the ocean about forty miles from your house. Divers are recovering the wreckage as we speak._"

"Were there Heartless on board?"

"_The pilot said he had an attack victim with him. After we told him to dock, we lost communications with him. That's when he tried to get past us. It's likely the same thing that happened this morning._"

Sighing, Sora asked, "What are you going to do about it?"

"_Well, now it seems that this is not as isolated as we had hoped. We're going to require every ship to dock for inspection. The Marines are going to have to cover our newfound personnel deficit._"

"Is there anything I have to do?"

"_Not at the moment. We may need you and Kairi later. I'll keep you posted._"

Sora gave his affirmative and hung up the phone. He turned to Kairi, who had a worried look on her face.

"What happened?"

"There was another crash. This time it was shot down before it hit the atmosphere."

Growing more worried, Kairi pressed the issue. "Does this mean the Heartless are coming back?"

Sora didn't want to answer truthfully, but he couldn't bring himself to lie. "I hope not, but I think it does."

***

The next morning was unremarkable. The young couple had breakfast on their deck, as usual. Despite the unshakable feeling that a storm was brewing, they were delighted with their breakfast and reveling in the other's company. Around noon, Kairi dragged Sora to the car in order to go grocery shopping. Normally she spared her husband the boredom of getting groceries, but he was the one who knew what kind of spices and other ingredients he needed to make barbecue sauce.

Sora was scanning the shelves for the proper ingredients. He mentally went over his recipes, unsure of which one to use.

"Hey Kairi, do you want a vinegar-based sauce, or should I use the marmalade?"

Kairi looked away in thought. "Well, we had the vinegar one last time, so let's mix it up. I say go with the marmalade."

"Marmalade it is." Sora looked around for the proper jar. Finding it, he put it in their cart along with several kinds of spices and seasonings. A few minutes and two aisles later, they had collected all the ingredients necessary for Sora's barbecue sauce. He licked his lips at the thought of charcoal-grilled ribs smothered in the tangy sauce. He also made a mental note to not let Hayner eat all the ribs before anyone else got a chance to have any. As fun as Hayner could be, he was a one-track mind when food was involved.

From there the couple split up. Sora went to pick up the meat while Kairi gathered drinks and ingredients for appetizers. Twenty minutes later, the couple hauled the cart to the checkout line. While they were waiting, Sora's eyes wandered to the nearby magazine rack. Most of the covers were plastered with pictures of shocked celebrities and phrases like _STARTLING BREAK-UP!_ One cover, however, gave him pause.

The cover was lacking the usual small-text blurbs about the minor articles inside. Instead, there was a picture of a Shadow and the word 'Again?' in small text near the bottom. There was only one copy left. Sora looked at the publication date. It was a weekly news magazine. That crash happened less than thirty-six hours ago. How did that magazine work quickly enough to get this issue out so fast?

Sora tore his gaze away from the publication to help Kairi unload their purchases. He grinned, watching as the items rolled one by one down the conveyor belt onto the scanner platform. Friday night was going to be fun.

When they got home, they found that they had gotten some mail. Not the usual fan mail or attempts to get the star couple to appear at such-and-such a place at a certain time. This mail was in an envelope marked with the seal of the Aegis Federal Government. It was also delivered by an armored truck that was still sitting in the driveway.

The doors on the back of the truck swung open, revealing a handful of guards. They stepped out and spread in a semicircle around Sora and Kairi. A man opened the passenger side door of the cab and handed the letter to Sora, who tore it open and read it alongside Kairi.

"Well, this is… unexpected," Sora mumbled, "Because they seem to have everything under control now."

Kairi let out a sigh of relief as she read further into the letter. "At least it doesn't go into effect until Sunday. That gives us three more days to do whatever we want."

"Like the barbecue."

Tilting her head, Kairi allowed a grin to slowly creep across her face. "Yes… among other things." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before sauntering to the front door. Sora simply stood there, wondering what she meant by that. The guards surrounding him rolled their eyes. Only this couple could talk about that during a crisis like this. Is that what was meant by 'blinded by love'?

Once inside, Sora found Kairi putting the purchased items in their pantry. He began putting the ingredients for the sauce all on one shelf and the ingredients for appetizers on another. Chips here, drinks on the floor (right under the plastic plates and cups), and bags of ice in the bottom shelf of the freezer.

While Sora was busy trying to fit all four bags of ice on the small freezer shelf, Kairi tapped him on the shoulder.

"We can't let Hayner mix alcohol with anything again. Remember last time? With the melted Sea-Salt Ice Cream and red food coloring?"

Sora had to choke down laughter. "Yeah, I do! How long did it take Olette to convince him that he wasn't a vampire with a weird sense of taste?"

"Two and a half hours."

This time, Sora couldn't restrain himself. He burst out laughing, his face surrounded by bags of ice. The mere memory of Hayner trying to 'feed' on Pence and Tidus was already enough to make him giggle. The thought of an irritated Olette attempting to knock some sense back into him made it impossible to hold back the laughter.

Though Kairi also took a certain pleasure in that particular memory, she still had the job of being Sora's better half, a job she took quite seriously. She pulled him out of the freezer and knocked him once on the top of his head with her fist. "Seriously, Sora. We can't let him. Who knows what stupid thing he'll do next time?"

Sora shrugged. "Oh, I dunno. But it might be fun to find out."

He was rewarded with another quick rap to the head, which he attempted to block. He was unsuccessful, mainly due to laughter at his own suggestion. "Alright! Alright! Jeez, Kairi. You'd think I was planning to tie him to a palm tree upside down or something."

"You'd do that, you know."

"I would not!"

"Would too."

"Would not!"

"Would too!"

"I would never do that to him."

Kairi looked directly back into Sora's eyes, her arms crossed, a stubborn pout on her face. Seeing the resolute determination on her face, Sora backed down. There was no arguing with a pose like that. However, it was very familiar.

"You look like Olette."

Kairi smiled, letting her intimidating pose relax. "It's what she does whenever Hayner gets out of line. She's been using it for years, so I thought I'd give it a try." She giggled. "It works like a charm!"

Wrapping his arm around her waist, Sora drew her closer. "It does. How could I ever argue with that face?"

She giggled as he nuzzled her cheek. "You couldn't." She pushed his head in front of her and snaked her arms around his neck. "At least, I _hope_ you couldn't."

"Oh, I wouldn't dare."

Their lips met. With that instant, all of their worries fled. The Heartless, the Gummi ship crashes, the new standard procedures, the official activation letter, the prospect of a drunken Hayner; all vanished in the perfection of their love. It alone was their lifeline through the recent trying years. It was their drive, their hope, and their joy. When Sora and Kairi were together like this, the world disappeared.

***

Sundown found Olette leaning on the railing of her balcony, staring into the distance. The few moments of twilight before the dusk were her favorite. It reminded her of her home; a home that had long ago fallen to unstoppable forces of darkness.

Whenever she had time, she would come out here and just remember. Anything could trigger a memory. Sirens in the distance reminded her of the time Pence had broken his leg when he fell off of the tram in Tram Common. Normally, he would have only suffered scrapes and bruises, but he had managed to fall at the exact time the tram was going over the only bridge on its route. The ambulance could barely navigate the tight spaces of Tram Common. The paramedics had to push the thirteen-year-old Pence up out of the alley and through the archway to get him into the vehicle.

Or the sailboat leaving the docks down below. Her fourteenth birthday party had been at the beach. The concession vendor had given everyone free pretzels in honor of the special day. When her parents told her it was time to open presents, they led everyone to the docks, where a sailboat was waiting to take them on a pleasure cruise for the rest of the day. She had opened presents nearly a half of a mile from shore. Everyone got to swim around the boat for hours.

A church bell brought back floods of memories of sitting on top of the clock tower eating Sea-Salt Ice Cream. She couldn't pick out individual memories; they all blended together into one blurry mess. Was the time Hayner dropped his ice cream onto someone's head before or after the time Pence threw the world's best paper airplane all the way to the sandlot? Nobody could ever tell for certain.

She heard Hayner open the sliding glass door behind her. There was another noise, too. Was that quiet clinking noise the sound of glass on glass? She turned around to see him pouring two glasses of white wine. That was odd. He was sweet, sure, but this was totally unlike him. Jokingly, she asked, "What's the occasion?"

Hayner smiled and handed her a glass. "It's a celebration. We've been together for exactly fifteen hundred days."

She took a sip and giggled. "I didn't know you could count that high."

Hanging his head, Hayner sighed in exasperation. "Why does everyone do that? I can count to a billion if I wanted to."

"Aw, I do it because I love you. You know that."

He turned to her and smiled as the two clinked glasses. The sunset's rays reflected off of the clear liquid, making it sparkle and shine. The simple fermentation of grapes turned into liquid gold. Olette held her glass up to the horizon. "Reminds you of home, doesn't it?"

"It does." Hayner sipped a small mouthful of wine. "But if there's one thing I'll never get used to, it's the sun actually _moving_ in the sky. Is it even supposed to do that?"

Olette smiled and nodded in agreement. "And don't forget night. It's a miracle we Twilight Towners don't go insane whenever night falls. We're so used to daylight. Night just seems… unnatural."

"It is. I say we blame Sora."

Cocking her head, Olette suddenly found herself worried that Hayner and Sora had recently had a falling out. "Why? Did he do something wrong?"

She instantly knew nothing had happened, because there _it_ was. That devious smile of his. "No, it's just that he's often blamed for things. That and he's not here to defend himself."

Olette rolled her eyes. That was pretty typical Hayner. The off-the-wall humor made her laugh, though. Maybe it was because she never saw it coming. It kept a little spice in their life. She never knew what would bring her some laughs.

"Alright, so we blame Sora. How do we prove it's him?"

Hayner looked back at her, the devious smile still on his face. "Prove?"

***

When the phone rang again, Sora found himself happy that the caller had chosen a decent hour to interrupt them. The sun had only just sunk below the horizon, and he and Kairi had just finished a light dinner. Though he normally dreaded answering the government agencies-only phone, he was merely happy that they hadn't called while he was sleeping.

"Sora speaking."

The voice on the other end of the line was unfamiliar to him. It identified itself as General Harris's second-in-command. It also identified itself as a she after Sora incorrectly assumed that the general's right-hand man was indeed a man, much to Sora's chagrin. He mentally reprimanded himself for the assumption. How had the voice _not_ tipped him off? Maybe he was more exhausted than he had figured.

"So, uh, anyway, _ma'am_… what can I do for you?"

"_We need you to confirm that you got our letter. It's of the utmost importance that you understand its contents._"

"Yes, Kairi and I read the letter. We'll be ready for action on Sunday. When did you get such a staff shortage?"

"_General Harris is unveiling his most recent project tomorrow. A lot of his staff was transferred to supervise the launch, so our security is… patchy at best. Bear in mind, sir, it's just a precaution. We don't expect any disturbances._"

"Well, don't worry. Kairi and I will both be ready to deploy." He hung up the phone. "No, you never expect any 'disturbances'. That's when something comes up and smacks you in the face."

A/N: Kinda slow and shorter than the first two, but the story begins to pick up next chapter. I promise, things are going to get fun really fast.

Also, there has been some confusion as to how this relates to my other fic. These two are in separate universes. This is _not_ a sequel, but that doesn't rule out the possibility of a sequel eventually being written. That, however, is a long shot.

Finally, I want to thank all my reviewers. Redeeming Endeavor, VergilTheart, IConcurVehemently… three really awesome people. I wish I had time to reply individually, but I'm just too busy. I can only manage about 2500 words in four days as it is. Maybe as time frees up over the next two weeks I'll be able to reply. See everyone in a few days!


	4. SkyEye

4. SkyEye

The plains were burning.

The grasses of the prairie were no match for the roaring flames. The fire swept across the fields, devouring acres of lush grassland. Animals fled the approaching wall of flames. They consumed human warriors and Heartless alike. Sora and Riku were helpless to do anything as a human wielding a flamethrower was tackled by Shadows while the fire engulfed them all.

Sora cursed the idiot that had decided to make their final stand on an open plain. This plan might have worked if the world's armies still used rifles. But conventional weapons didn't affect the Heartless much. Sora had learned that the hard way when he was forced to cut through the Heartless in Hollow Bastion using only his toy wooden sword. The only weaponry that was still effective was incendiary weaponry. Hence the flamethrowers.

Fire-based weaponry worked well in the desert or Arctic regions. There was nothing to catch on fire besides the Heartless. But on this open grassland, the very ground was burning. This 'defensive deployment' had turned into a suicide mission.

Riku was running beside Sora when the idea hit him. He stopped Sora and tried to explain his plan over the roaring sound of the fire.

"We won't be able to outrun these flames forever! We've gotta make a firebreak!"

"What's a firebreak?"

"I'll show you!" Riku motioned to some nearby soldiers and gave rapid-fire orders to them. They formed a circle around Sora and Riku and began to burn the grass. Sora looked at Riku, wide-eyed in fear.

"Are you insane?! We're _helping_ the fire!"

Riku had to shout over the fire, which was growing steadily closer. "When I say so, use your Blizzard spell to put out the flames."

"What good will that do?"

Riku pointed around them. "If we burn a circle of grass now, the flames won't be able to reach us! We'll be safe until the fire dies down!"

A look of epiphany dawned over Sora's face. He held up his hand for a high-five. "Riku, you're a genius!"

.

Within seconds, the soldiers had burned a circle around the two Keyblade wielders. Sora and Riku started extinguishing the burning grass while the soldiers burned the grass inside the circle, creating a twenty-meter wide circle of burnt grass. The group of humans huddled in the middle of the firebreak, praying the fire wouldn't find anything flammable left in the blackened circle.

The approaching fire rushed towards them, the wind propelling the flames faster. Sora and Riku watched as the flames reached the firebreak, hesitated, and continued around the circle of burnt prairie. Soon they were surrounded by flames, yet they were perfectly safe in their large safety zone. The humans were untouched by the fire.

Riku looked at the fire with a defiant grin on his face. "Ha! You missed me. Better luck next time!" He cast a Blizzard spell into the flames in celebration. The flamethrower-toting men surrounded the nineteen-year-old and began congratulating him on his brilliant plan.

Their celebrations were cut short by Sora's involuntary cry. He found himself face-to-face with a Shadow that had suddenly spawned out of the ground. He turned to regroup with the rest of the humans, but he found himself surrounded by Heartless. Riku and the group of soldiers found themselves surrounded as well. Shadows, Neoshadows, and Darkballs came out of nowhere. The only thing Sora could do was hack at the nearest ones in an attempt to cut through the horde.

Riku began slicing his way towards Sora, leaving the soldiers to defend themselves. Jets of flame erupted from their weapons, keeping the Heartless at bay. But every time a Heartless succumbed to blade or flame, another one came out of the ground to replace it. Sora knew they couldn't hold out here forever, and the Heartless showed no signs of slowing. His arms began to ache from swinging the Keyblade.

He looked up and saw that Riku was having similar luck. Shadows were springing out from the crowd only to be picked out of the air by Way to the Dawn and evaporate in a black mist. But no matter how many he slew, they simply kept coming. Riku looked up at Sora and tried to shout something.

"I can't hear you, Riku!"

"Sora!"

"What?"

"Sora!"

"Riku, what?"

"_Sora… Sora, wake up._"

"What are you talking about, Riku!?"

"_Sora, wake up! Wake up!_"

Sora awoke with a start to find himself in his bed with a very concerned Kairi shaking his shoulder. When she saw he was awake, she gently ran her hand through his incessantly spiky hair.

"You were having a nightmare again, weren't you?"

Still breathing in rapid gasps from his dream, Sora rubbed his eyes. "Yeah, I was. The same one as always."

A look of concern spread across Kairi's face. "Did you see…?" She trailed off into silence.

Sora shook is head. "No."

She pulled Sora into a close embrace, hoping to calm her husband down. He had been having the same nightmare on and off for nearly two years now. When he was having them, it was nearly impossible for him to sleep. He feared falling asleep so much that he needed to take a potent tranquilizer simply to get some rest. The only good thing about the fits was that they never lasted more than ten days. But during those ten days, Sora was an absolute mess. Lethargic, disinterested, and occasionally terrified of the dark. Kairi couldn't even begin to imagine the pain he went through every time.

If there ever was a good time to get the nightmares, though, now was that time. There would be plenty of things to distract him over the next few days. That evening was the barbecue, tomorrow was going to be a stay-at-home day for the two of them, and on Sunday they went to Ansem Air Force Base to sort out the details of their emergency deployment status. That didn't leave much time for anything else, which, thankfully, included being strung out from lack of sleep.

Kairi usually cursed the Emergency Deployment letters, but now she was glad it had arrived in such a timely fashion. The distraction would be welcome. And who knows? If they got lucky, maybe they'd get to do something really exotic, like parachuting to the trouble zone. That would take his mind right off his troubles.

She continued to embrace Sora even as she felt the rising and falling of his chest slow down as he entered the deep breathing of sleep. Maybe her very presence would ward off the nightmares. It was the least she could hope for.

***

The sun had just begun to lighten the eastern horizon when the activity at Ansem AFB began to pick up. Normally, the base was quiet until at least dawn, but today was different. Hundreds of civilian contractors swarmed around the launch pad, preparing it for the launch. Many more tended to the crawling platform that ever so slowly moved the white behemoth towards the pad, crunching the gravel path along its way.

Other than the contractors, though, the base was completely silent. Nobody was allowed in or out for the day. Personnel were confined to their barracks until the launch was complete. The dawn patrols had taken to the skies an hour before the swarm of technicians had arrived. For Ansem Air Force Base, today's agenda had one item: Launch this rocket.

Rockets such as this were a rare sight. Most space-bound equipment was either small enough to fit on a cargo Gummi ship or were assembled in space from smaller components. The only use for a rocket was to launch something that had a single large component; one that was too large for a cargo ship.

However, the vast majority of people working that day had no idea what the rocket's payload was. The only thing they knew was that it was a classified Air Force project. Everything about it had been very hush-hush. Most of the contractors didn't even know they were going to be working today up until a week ago.

The few people who knew exactly what the rocket was carrying were in a bunker a mile away, preparing to make a statement. The project lead, General Harris, sat in the center of a long table adorned with a banner bearing the seal of the Air Force. Dozens of cameras, lights, and microphones packed the small room, making it swelteringly hot. However, the heat was not what was making Harris sweat.

Today was the culmination of three years' worth of work. Everyone involved knew that all their effort could vanish in an instant if the rocket malfunctioned. But if it worked, it would extend a blanket of safety over Aegis. With the Heartless appearing to be worming their way into recent events again, it was absolutely vital that this launch proceed immediately and flawlessly.

The broadcast was supposed to be live, but there simply wasn't time. The launch had been moved ahead four months as it was, and Harris needed to personally oversee every last detail to make sure today went smoothly. So he had opted to record his statement now and have it played on TV just before the launch so he could be in Mission Control.

A cameraman signaled to somebody behind the glaring lights. A voice from the blackness told Harris that he was live in ten seconds. The cameraman held up his fingers in a countdown. At zero, he pointed to the general.

"Good morning, people of Aegis…"

***

Hayner was busy scrambling some eggs when Olette burst into the kitchen.

"What time is it?"

Stunned by the sudden and unexpected appearance of his fiancé, Hayner stood frozen by the stove, an egg in his hand. Olette bolted to the clock and squeaked as she saw the time. She bolted out of the kitchen, yelling to Hayner over her shoulder.

"Hayner! Get to the TV! There's something important on!"

Hayner took the eggs off the stove and set them on the nearby countertop. As he wandered into the next room, Olette grasped his shoulders and roughly sat him down on the couch. The government news channel was on, showing an officer with big rank insignia sitting at a table accompanied by several lesser officers.

He had a flash of déjà vu when he saw the face. "Hey, is that the general that Sora talks to? I swear I've-"

"_Shh!_ This is _important_, Hayner!"

As they watched, the general began to speak.

"Good morning, people of Aegis. In just a few moments, the most ambitious defense project in history will be launched.

"This launch will mark the beginning of a new era of safety for Aegis. Previously, our sensor satellites had only indirect communication with our defense network. There was no way to send data directly from a sensor computer to a defense platform's targeting computer. The recent rogue Gummi ships in our atmosphere were left to roam freely until they got near enough to the surface to become a true threat. That, however, is about to change.

"With today's launch, every satellite orbiting Aegis will now be linked to a central hub. It is the final product of years of military research and development. This, ladies and gentlemen, is SkyEye."

The camera zoomed out to reveal a large screen behind the general. A computer-generated image of a massive satellite appeared onscreen. There was a small humanoid figure next to the satellite for comparison. SkyEye was twenty times taller than the human. The giant cylindrical satellite had solar panels that covered an entire acre when fully deployed.

The general continued. "SkyEye is the most advanced communications center ever built. It can send incredible amounts of data to any terminal it chooses. This will be the link between our orbiting eyes and hands. Defense platforms may now get targeting data directly from sensor satellites.

"As you can see, its incredible size necessitates the use of a custom-designed rocket instead of a cargo Gummi ship. Unfortunately, it has no on-board defenses, so every space-capable vessel is being used as temporary defense for the launch. SkyEye will be fully deployed twenty minutes after liftoff. When it comes online, it can use the ODN platforms as its defense. There will be no holes in our coverage a half an hour from now.

"The launch will commence in two minutes."

The screen switched to a view of the launch pad at Ansem Air Force Base with a crowd of VIPs off to the left. A countdown appeared in the upper right corner, slowly ticking down. Hayner and Olette watched the numbers gradually become smaller, the anticipation growing every time it changed. If what the general said was true, it meant that the most recent threat was defused. No more Heartless crashing Gummi ships onto innocent people.

The countdown was at sixty seconds. The voice of a mission controller came over the speakers. "_T minus sixty seconds_." The giant rocket stood on the pad, seeming to live and breathe as unneeded gases were vented from the hull in small white clouds. Hoses carrying liquid fuel were retracted from the launch tower's base and rapidly stored in bunkers.

T minus thirty seconds. A hush fell over the crowd on camera. The tension became palpable. The air seemed to freeze in place.

At T minus ten, the controller's voice came over the speakers again, counting down the seconds to launch.

"_We are GO for launch. T minus ten… nine… eight…_"

The final supply arms were drawn back from the rocket, rapidly swinging to the side. People began to cheer and whistle as the countdown neared zero.

"_Five… begin ignition sequence._"

With that statement, billowing clouds of white gas burst from the engine cones. A low rumble could be heard from the distant viewing post.

"_Three… two… one… Ignition!_"

The clouds of fuel ignited into an enormous fireball. The low rumble turned into an incredible roar as the rocket reached full thrust. Flames shot out from the bottom of the launch pad.

"_We have liftoff!_"

Finally reaching full power, the rocket crawled skyward, slowly picking up speed. As it cleared the launch tower, it became visible in the city ten miles away. People got out of their cars and leaned out windows to watch. The populace began to clap and cheer as their greatest hope for peace shot skyward. Though they were unable to attend the launch, they had heard the bulletins put out earlier that morning. Now their hope was riding on a column of flame.

The majestic white spire of the rocket climbed higher into the blue sky until it was only a glint of light from the burning fuel. The TV screen could barely show it anymore. A voice came over the speakers.

"_We now take you live to the SkyEye Launch Control Center._"

A shot of General Harris standing at the rear of a room filled with rows of consoles filled the screen. Controllers made various callouts as the rocket reached orbital altitude and jettisoned spent sections until all that was left was SkyEye itself. A computer-generated image came up on the screen, picture-in-picture style. It showed the solar panels of SkyEye unfolding to their full size. After nearly a full minute, they were fully deployed and the picture disappeared.

A flight controller made one last callout and the room's occupants stood and applauded. General Harris pushed a button on his headset, grinning.

"And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how we do that."

***

Sora had begun making his barbecue sauce while the sun was still high in the sky. If he waited any longer, it wouldn't be ready when the guests arrived. He went about gathering his ingredients with a spring in his step and a smile on his face. A rocket launch! He had only ever seen rockets in movies and pictures, never in real life. He hadn't even seen one on a news channel before. They simply weren't used.

He found that to be a sad fact. Even from his house twenty miles away, he could see and hear the rocket as it ascended into the sky. It was awesome to behold. It made Gummi ship travel seem mundane by comparison. After all, Gummi ships flew like a normal plane until they exited the atmosphere, and it took hours. The rocket was completely gone within three minutes of liftoff. Sora could hardly comprehend the raw power needed to haul something that big and heavy at such speeds.

As he was merrily preparing his sauce, he was so engrossed by thoughts of the rocket that he never noticed Kairi sneaking up behind him. She waited until his hands were away from the mixing bowl before jabbing him in the sides, causing him to yelp and jump a foot into the air. He whipped around to find Kairi pointing at him and laughing.

"You're so easy to scare, Sora. For spending so long fighting for your life, you sure are a coward."

As much as Sora loved Kairi, he couldn't let her insult his pride like that, even in joking. "Aw, c'mon, Kairi. I'm distracted today. I keep thinking about that rocket. It was _so cool_!"

Kairi giggled. "It was. I bet Hayner enjoyed it, too."

"Yeah, he had to. How couldn't he?"

She was about to comment about Olette when the smell of the sauce reached her nose. She sniffed the air, relishing the delicious scent produced by the savory sauce. Sora jokingly pushed her away as she drifted towards the bowl.

"Alright, Kairi, it isn't done yet. You can't have any until our friends get here. Hey! _Down_, girl. Sit. Stay."

Kairi feigned shock at Sora's terse commands. "What am I, your dog? I refuse to be spoken to in such a manner."

She pouted and turned her back to Sora, who sighed and wrapped his arms around her.

"Alright, you can be the first person to get a taste. Would that work?"

Kairi turned in his arms, still pouting. "Hmm. Alright, but if you pretend I'm your dog ever again, I swear I'm going to leave you." She gave him a playful swat on the forehead and smiled. "Besides, out of both of us, _you're_ the one who is most like a puppy. _I_ should be giving _you_ commands."

Sora let her go and smiled even wider. "Woof!" He let his tongue hang out the side of his mouth.

"_Very_ attractive, Sora. Come on, you need to finish that sauce before people get here."

"You mean I need to finish it so you can have a taste."

"Just finish it!"

"Woof!"


	5. Eternal Summer

5. Eternal Summer

Six o'clock found Sora and Kairi busy preparing their deck for dinner. Their table had been laid out for eight people, including themselves. Sora was now getting the charcoal grill lit so the embers would be hot enough to cook on in a few minutes. He added a small squirt of lighter fluid to help it along, careful to not overuse it. There had been an unfortunate accident not long ago that ended in some seriously burnt hot dogs and an angry Kairi. Now Sora never used more than a half-second squirt at most.

Meanwhile, Kairi was filling coolers with water and the ice they had bought. She filled them most of the way up, placed the beverages inside, and put down a small layer of ice over them. It got the drinks cold quickly while still keeping them accessible. Kairi had a knack for party preparations. If there was a way to get something done faster, better, or more efficiently, Kairi knew about it and used it. One trick was to add some salt to the ice water. It cooled the drinks faster. Kairi didn't know the physics behind it, nor did she care. It worked, and that was all that mattered.

Though their house wasn't especially large, it was very good for parties. The deck opened directly onto the beach, whose white sands gently sloped into the surf. A wooden table with optional expansion sections sat opposite the red charcoal grill that Sora favored, leaving plenty of space open for people to move around. The kitchen and the deck were separated by glass doors that slid into the walls, creating a large opening. It was handy for transporting the volleyball net from the garage to the beach.

On the inside, the kitchen and living room had no clear division between themselves. In the event of a sudden squall, the two rooms had more than enough room between them to comfortably fit twenty people; more if some sat on the L-shaped couch. The flat-screen TV in the living room was connected to the best cable provider on Aegis. When Sora and Kairi moved in, Sora had wanted to get the satellite sports package, but a law had been recently passed restricting all satellite activity to government operations. Still, he could watch nearly every sporting event on Aegis.

Kairi had customized the kitchen to create a perfect preparation area for their famous barbecues. Sora could work on the sauce and meat while she made appetizers, side dishes, and desserts. The couple cooked together almost every chance they got. When somebody was hosting a party, they would always collaborate on making the perfect dish to bring.

Sora looked at the bottom of the grill's dish and saw that the coals were nearly ready. A noise to his left made him spin towards the beach. He calmed down when he saw it was just a jet ski making its way across the waves in the evening light. It seemed that his dreams were causing mild paranoia again. He brought up his hand to block the summer sun's rays.

There was little difference between the summer and winter sunsets. Seasons on Aegis were very mild. If someplace was cold during the winter, it was only slightly less cold in the summer. On the other hand, Sora and Kairi's residence was paradise year round. High heat, high humidity, long days, and no hurricanes. It was eternal summer, and Sora liked it _almost _as much as he did the Destiny Islands.

Kairi popped up next to him, inquiring about the state of the coals.

"Don't worry; they'll be ready in just a few minutes. I'm going to get the ribs right now. How soon until people start arriving?"

Glancing back at the clock in their kitchen, Kairi squinted to make out the time. "Well, it's six ten right now, and I told people to get here around six fifteen. So… forty-five minutes."

"I asked when _people_ would arrive, not how long until Olette can drag Hayner gets here."

Kairi giggled. "Well, in that case, it's about ten minutes. Nobody is ever _exactly_ on time. We should be alright on cooking time."

Sora smiled and nodded, satisfied that he would have plenty of time to prepare the food. If Hayner got there late again, it was his loss. It was unfortunate that Olette would miss out on hot food, though. Maybe she would be able to get him moving early today. Of course, Satan might have to bundle up today, but neither was very likely.

***

Everyone lined up in the kitchen to get their food. Tidus and Wakka pushed and shoved in order to get the first crack at the plate of ribs. Though Tidus was considered the superior fighter, Wakka simply used his greater size to edge out a victory, reaping the delicious spoils of the best barbecue.

The pair had been in constant competition as children, and it hadn't stopped when they grew up. Events just seemed to conspire in order to keep them competing. For a while, both of them were interested in the same girl, but in the end, she ended up dating the bouncer at their favorite club. Then, when their mandatory military service began, Wakka had opted to take the standard Army infantry route, while Tidus became a Marine. When _that_ particular topic came up, their arguments were absolutely insufferable.

Wakka bit into one of the ribs while he was still in line, cracking a joke about Tidus's choice of service with a mouth full of delectable barbecue. Tidus pushed him forward, eager to get some food and shut him up.

Amazingly, Hayner and Olette had arrived very nearly on time. Five minutes after they had arrived, Sora thought up a witty joke about seeing the devil in a winter jacket. He kicked himself for not thinking of it on the spot.

The sun shone in onto the plates of food, making them seem like platters in a king's feast. Mixed smells wafted from the kitchen, making those at the back of the line inhale deeply, savoring the scent of the delicious food. The line proceeded quickly, as everyone wanted to get their food and begin eating quickly.

***

"Warp contact. Range: Two thousand kilometers."

Corporal White's callout was acknowledged with a nod from the commanding officer on duty. "Hail them, Corporal. Make sure we don't have a time bomb on our hands."

"Yessir." White flipped the broadcast switch on his console. "Unknown ship, this is ODN Platform _Marathon_. Identify yourself."

There was a tense silence. The corporal was about to rebroadcast when a burst of static broke the quiet. "_This is the _Morgan_. I've got some trouble with my broadcast array. Can I get some repairs over there?_"

"Negative, _Morgan_. Power down until our scans are complete."

Silence once again permeated the small broadcast room while the long-range scanners searched over every inch of the slightly damaged Gummi ship, looking for any hint of stowaways or other threats. After several minutes, someone in another row on consoles gave a thumbs-up while looking at his screen. "That's as best we can do. The engines are leaking some radiation, and it's slightly interfering with our scan. It's nothing big. They look clean from here, sir."

The commanding officer gave a quick nod to Corporal White, who flipped the broadcast switch again. "_Morgan_, you are clear for landing in Hangar 2. Proceed on course 145.33 by 98.01 until you are within 5 kilometers of the hangar. You will receive additional instructions at that time."

Static hissed and popped until the pilot's voice came over the radio again, slightly fuzzy. "_Copy that. Adjusting course."_

Shifting in his seat, the broadcast room commander eyed his screen warily. "White, get Captain Darrin on the horn. I want her Marines in that hangar ten minutes before that thing lands."

***

Hayner licked his fingers as he finished the first rib. The barbecue sauce that Sora makes was simply irresistible. He wished he could make sauce as well as the spiky-haired Keyblade wielder. Of course, many people wished they could make as good a barbecue sauce as Sora could. It was a fairly common sentiment.

When Olette had told him that Sora was having another barbecue, Hayner had made a point of leaving right on time. It was one of the few things that could make him move with any kind of purpose. Of course, even though they had left on time, they had gotten caught in unusually bad rush hour traffic. It cost them nearly twenty minutes. It had been twenty minutes of Hayner worrying that all the food would have been eaten by the time they got there. Not only could Sora's barbecuing make Hayner leave on time, it could turn him into a nervous wreck if he thought there was a possibility of him missing out on it.

Now that the couple had arrived, though, Hayner was perfectly happy. He took a bite of a second rib, relishing the salty-sweet sauce on the meat grilled to perfection. It was restaurant quality. No, it was better than that. It was the kind of food that deserved to be served on golden platters by angels. When you ate it, your next meal tasted like cardboard by comparison.

And if that weren't enough, there was the potato salad that Kairi made. It was a wondrous dish that turned mere cheese and potatoes into something that would make the kings of old green with envy.

Hayner stopped eating for a mere fraction of a second. How is it that Sora and Kairi were not only two of the most powerful and feared humans in the universe, but were also incredibly good at cooking? It seemed like an unequal distribution of fortune. Not only could they slaughter Heartless by the thousands, but they could make a dinner to die for. The two skills didn't have any apparent connection between them.

He shrugged and continued eating. Their odd skill set, like the ingredients of silly putty, would remain a mystery to him. It was not worth thinking about when he could be devoting his entire brain to the delectable meal in front of him.

On his right side, Olette was also gnawing the last bits of meat from the bone. Unlike Hayner, however, she managed to eat without smearing sauce all over her face. Quite often, this turned into a contentious issue between them. Olette always tried to get Hayner to make a smaller mess. His response was always that the mess was part of the experience. To him, not getting messy was missing out on half the fun of ribs. Still, he never objected when Olette sighed and wiped his face with a wet napkin. He may have been an oddball, but he knew when to submit to her authority.

To his left, Pence was uneasily conversing with Selphie. Normally, Pence was not one to find himself stuck in an awkward situation, but the red-haired girl was just so… _talkative_. It blew his mind when she started talking. It never _stopped_. And while he was admittedly no expert on females, he could swear she was flirting with him.

The group of eight continued eating until all the food was completely gone. When the last specks of edible material were consumed, everyone helped put the dishes in the dishwasher. Tidus and Wakka brought dishes in, Selphie and Olette rinsed them in the sink, and Sora and Kairi put them in the dishwasher itself. While they were doing that, Hayner and Pence grabbed the volleyball net from the garage. They ran through the house, yelling incoherently at the top of their lungs. It was competition time.

***

"We've reached the hangar bay, Corporal. Relay that to your commander."

"_Yes, ma'am._"

Captain Meghan Darrin switched her radio to a company-wide broadcast. "Recheck all seals and safety valves. Make sure you're locked up tight. If you've got a problem, make sure I know about it."

Though the company of Marines was in an air-tight hangar bay with artificial gravity, nobody wanted to take any chances. Some would say that 100 heavily armed and armored soldiers was overkill for an inspection, but Darrin herself had seen entire battalions of 1000 troops get wiped out by fewer than ten Heartless. They had been the big, tough ones with living shields.

Needless to say, Captain Darrin felt perfectly justified in bringing her entire company to the bay in full vacuum gear. The possibility of losing an orbital platform on her watch was terrifying to comprehend. It even made the hassle of getting in the hot, bulky zero-atmosphere suits seem like putting on shorts and a T-shirt.

The company had been visibly irritated when she ordered them to secure vacuum weaponry. Because flamethrowers were prohibited on orbital installations, most weapons used incendiary rounds: projectiles that burned at 2500 degrees Celsius and tended to set the target on fire. But the lack of air negated the burning effect of standard rounds, so they needed to get the station quartermaster to sign off on ten thousand rounds of oxygen-enhanced incendiary rounds. It took nearly an hour to get the proper clearances.

However, none of that was on the mind of any Marine in the hangar bay. They were all eager to get a crack at the Heartless with a real weapon, not the "squirtguns" they were issued on the planet. They were all battle-hardened; every one of them had been in many battles against the Heartless on other worlds. The best of the best were stationed in space as the advance guard.

Darrin watched as her Marines took defensive positions behind crates, pipes, and anything else that offered cover. Satisfied that they were ready to defend the bay, she began another transmission to the broadcast room.

"Marines are in position, Corporal. We're ready for docking and inspection."

***

Selphie burst into laughter as Olette finished her story.

"Why was he making Molotov cocktails in the first place?"

Hayner, who was setting up the volleyball net, overheard her question. His pride demanded that he yell back his reason as he drove a stake into the sand with a mallet.

"Because the Heartless aren't vulnerable to much besides fire, and I don't have any mystical weapons at my beck and call!"

He reached over and smacked Sora in the back of the head. "Lucky little dirtbag. _You_ get to be completely safe without anyone criticizing you. Me? It's always, 'Hayner, that's not effective.' 'Hayner, that's not very smart.' 'Hayner, that's not legal.'"

Sora smiled and drove his stake into the sand with one fell blow of his Keyblade. "Some of us are just luckier than others, I guess."

"You _would_ say that."

"Just get the net set up and we can settle this."

Hayner finally drove the stake deep into the sand and tossed the mallet aside. He took up his place next to Pence, who was unusually agile for someone of his size. Sora and Tidus stood on the other side of the net, ready to return one of Pence's blistering serves. Wakka, who volunteered to referee the firs game, tossed the ball to Pence, who immediately prepared to serve.

***

The Gummi ship slowed to a crawl as it approached the outer hangar doors. The massive brown-grey metal slabs shuddered and began to open, allowing the small, colorful craft inside. Te doors, which were designed to fit the largest Gummi ships in existence, did not have to open very much for the ship to maneuver between them. As it drifted past the doors, they slid closed and sealed the tiny craft in. Vents opened, allowing air to rush into the airlock previously occupied only by vacuum.

When the pressure equalized, the inner set of doors opened, revealing the alcove in which the ship was to land. The pilot could see Marines pointing rifles at the ship from their various pieces of cover. How many were there? Far too many to count. It appeared to be at least five platoons, maybe even an entire company. And they were all in vacuum suits. What were they expecting, an entire invasion force?

The ship's engines flared, giving it the final push needed to set down in the center of the bay. As it floated lower to the ground, a series of klaxons began to sound, accompanied by rotating red beacons near each door. They were locking the bay down tight. Wow. These guys weren't taking any chances.

***

The volleyball sailed over the net in a high arc, easy prey for Hayner's spike. Tidus's last save was a desperate dive in an attempt to keep Pence's miniature bump from dropping just over the net. While he was able to keep the play moving, he had set Hayner up for a lethal spike. Sora was helpless to intervene as Hayner's hand impacted with perfect form; fingers slightly curled, palm open.

Sand sprayed from the impact point, showering Sora's bare feet and lower legs with thousands of tiny knives. He knew what the call would be, but he dreaded Wakka's next announcement anyway.

"It's in! Hayner and Pence win!"

The pair jumped and hollered as their defeated opponents kicked the sand. So much for Sora's winning streak. If he had only won this game, he could say his longest winning streak was in the double digits. He had only lost by three points! He wanted to blame Tidus for giving Hayner such a juicy target, but he knew that it had been their only option.

He shrugged. At least he wasn't about to win his 100th game when his streak was broken. _That_ would be frustrating. Wasn't that kind of like something Kairi said? 'Life is never so bad that it can't get worse'? It was true. There was always something else that could possibly be going wrong that wasn't. But then again, it meant that there was no 'rock bottom' to be hit. It was a mixed blessing.

As he walked back to the deck, the girls were readying for their game; Kairi and Olette playing against Selphie and Wakka. It was considered a fair match. Wakka was really good and Selphie was… not. Kairi and Olette were both a bit above average.

Pence was refereeing this game. As the opening serve screamed over the net, Hayner started rummaging through the coolers, trying to find something cool to drink. Sora remembered Kairi's warning and turned around in his chair.

"Hayner, don't go mixing things again. Pick a drink and stick with it."

With a shout of satisfaction, the blonde pulled a can of soda from one of the coolers. He popped the aluminum top with a sharp snap.

"Don't worry. No booze in this. We've got another game to play, and I'm not going to risk losing for a buzz. I'm surprised that you're not encouraging me to have a bit, though."

"Kairi's idea. She didn't want to have Olette running around after you if you got out of hand."

Hayner took a gulp from the can. "She's always been your better half."

Sora chuckled and turned back to the game.

***

Darrin watched the ship touch down on the reinforced steel deck with a clang. Not moving from her defensive position, she began her rehearsed routine.

"What are we up against, Lieutenant?"

One of her Marines checked a handheld scanning device and reported his findings over the radio. "_It's loosely based on Sora's famous _Highwind_ model. Most changes are cosmetic; red replaced with green, orange with blue, and yellow with purple. The weapons have been removed in favor of extra engines and the wings aren't as high a quality as the _Highwind._ The armor rating is consistent with most civilian ships. If things go to hell, we can take it down easily enough._"

She switched her radio to interface with the hangar bay's loudspeaker.

"Come out of your ship slowly with your hands on your head. Make no sudden movement. Failure to comply will be met with deadly force."

The bubble canopy of the cockpit slowly rose on the rear hinge, revealing a lone pilot. He had his hands planted on the top of his head, as ordered. A pair of Marines pushed a portable ladder to the cockpit and hastily retreated to their cover.

"Go down the ladder slowly."

The pilot complied, exiting the cockpit and slowly descending the rungs of the metal ladder.

"Drop to your knees."

As the flier kneeled, Darrin signaled for a squad to check the pilot for weapons, transmitters, or, most importantly, any sign of the Heartless. After a brief check, the squad leader flashed a thumbs-up to Darrin. _He's clean_. Darrin pointed to the pilot, then to the corner to which she wanted him brought. The squad brusquely walked the man to the corner, keeping their weapons trained on him.

When the pilot was securely in the corner, Captain Darrin ordered another squad to sweep the exterior of the ship. Just as the squad came out from behind their cover, her radio fizzed to life.

"_Captain Darrin! Come in!_"

She flicked her radio back to the broadcast room's channel. "Corporal? What's going on? It better be damn important to be interrupting-"

The voice of the broadcast room commander came over the speaker. "_Captain, the engines aren't leaking any radiation, our scan was being jammed. Get your men away from that ship!_"

Before she could do anything, she heard a shout from behind the ship and the sharp cracks of a rifle being fired.

INCOMING TRANSMISSION

…

UNENCRYPTED

…

CONTENTS:

Daily Report: Sensor Satellite 0029 _Archangel_

Status: All Systems Green

Priority: None

/DAILY REPORT

/NO ANOMALIES DETECTED. SITUATION NORMAL.

/NEXT SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE SERVICE: 56 DAYS, 2 HOURS

/TRANSMISSION COMPLETE

/TERMINATING CONNECTION

…

…


	6. Zero Gravity

6. Zero Gravity

The larger moon orbiting Aegis was low on the horizon, casting a white glare across the calm ocean. The smaller moon would rise in a few hours, adding its dim glow to the pale light of the first. Out by the coast, the lights of the city couldn't bleach the sky. Thousands of points of light dotted the cloudless night sky. The world became a monotone of dark blue in the still of the night.

The only color along the beach came from the lights of a kitchen in which a tired young couple were finishing the final cleaning and storing jobs of the evening. They packed the final coolers on the floor in their pantry and turned off the lights, leaving the coastline devoid of artificial illumination.

Moving slowly and deliberately, they walked up the stairs, giving an extra effort to stay awake until they reached their bed. The evening had been exhausting. Once it had become too dark to play volleyball any longer, they had taken the net down and started swimming in the final light of the day. Eventually, everyone had left in the same tired state. Jokes about falling asleep at the wheel had been made, playful jabs had been exchanged, and they had departed, leaving the house silent.

As they slipped into bed, they bid each other good night. Within seconds, both of them were asleep. Nothing moved in the house. The only sound audible was the sound of crashing waves on the beach. Clocks silently declared the passing of the minutes. The silence was disarming; it penetrated deep and slowed everything until it was frozen in place.

Miles above the calm house, the scene was quite the opposite. Gunfire filled the air with sharp cracks as the strobe lights of muzzle flashes cast staggered shadows along the walls. Men and women ran towards exits as the midnight-black creatures pounced on the slowest, clawing and slashing at their armored suits. Even for Marines, it was not a fair fight. The Heartless outnumbered them fivefold by now.

After the initial panic reaction, the soldiers let their training take over. When they were outnumbered in close quarters, they had been trained to retreat to one of the station's built-in bottlenecks, where they could mount a more effective defense. Squads split up in the halls in an attempt to minimize casualties should one group find themselves surrounded. Squad leaders began coordinating a rendezvous point for the scattered troops.

For now, the Heartless were contained in the hangar bay. It was anyone's guess as to how long their makeshift prison would hold them, as well as how many fallen soldiers were among their number. Until everyone was in the same place, a head count was impossible. All anyone could do was get to the bottleneck as fast as possible.

Captain Darrin walked backwards along a service corridor, breathing heavily in her vacuum armor. Her rifle felt heavy in her hands. The only thing keeping her aim steady was the years of training and experience she had fighting in this exact situation. On her home world of Marathon, she had fought in the first doomed battles with the Heartless in cramped alleys and high-rise buildings. Now, many years later, she was one of the finest in the Corps, serving with distinction aboard the station named after her home.

So this situation was nothing new. The only thing different was the consequence of failure. Should this station fall, it would open the door for innumerable hordes of Heartless to swarm over the face of Aegis. She could not allow mankind's last hope to be destroyed because she was a little nervous.

Satisfied the corridor was secure, she dropped down an access vent with the rest of her squad. A pair of maintenance personnel welded the vent shut, hoping to stem the eventual advance of the Heartless into this area. Darrin removed her helmet, glad to be able to breathe air that hadn't been recycled through the suit's filters. For now, it still tasted fresh. If the Heartless managed to break through their defenses, though, it would be replaced with a much worse taste.

The Marines around her were busy setting up portable barriers, triage stations, and everything else they'd need to hold this corridor. Should this line be broken, there were two more natural choke points to which they could fall back and start again. After that, though, there would be no stopping the Heartless from swarming all over the station. These bottlenecks were the last line of defense for this station.

***

"I don't understand. What do you mean, 'breached'?"

"I mean that the Heartless are inside the _Marathon_. They're fighting the onboard Marines as we speak. It's absolutely vital that we get you two up there as soon as possible."

Sora, who was struggling with his armor, hadn't quite been listening to Harris as the general had been explaining the situation. The last explanation, however, hadn't been filled with technical details. Sora didn't even know that damaged Gummi engines leaked radiation. He was surprised that he wasn't glowing green; given how much damage some of his designs had suffered a few years back.

According to Harris, the radiation from the damaged engines had actually been a signal jam originating from the craft's transmission array. It blocked the sensors designed to detect onboard Heartless. Not only that, but they had latched on the back of the ship; hiding from the station's cameras and windows. The creatures were devious.

Sora finally managed to get the torso section of his suit on with the help of the Air Force sergeant in charge of the armory. Though it wasn't bulky, it was confusing to put on. It wrapped around the wearer and sealed in the front, making it look like an armored vest. Sora had less trouble with the arms, as they were essentially detachable sleeves with gloves.

Vacuum suit design had enjoyed many breakthroughs since the first days of space exploration. Instead of huge, bulky designs, modern suits were nearly-skintight suits with layers of synthetic fiber weave, not dissimilar to Kevlar. The helmets were no longer massive, either. They had shrunk to just large enough to be comfortable. The faceplate had become light-sensitive; polarizing itself to differing light conditions.

The Air Force suit was essentially the same as the Marine Corps. suit, with the exception of the weapon-linked faceplate display being swapped for a Gummi ship-compatible targeting suite. The fiber-weave layers were dull gray and the armor plates were nearly black. The plates, though rigid, did not subtract much from the suit's flexibility, despite covering most of the surface area. Areas that needed to move had a zigzag cut in the plates to allow for some shifting, exposing the mottled gray beneath the armor. The only areas left completely uncovered were the joints, which had an extra-thick layer of weave.

Surprisingly, Sora understood all the suit's functions as the sergeant explained how everything worked. It wasn't much different from the training suit Sora had used when he had earned his zero-gravity certification two years earlier. The only difference was that this suit would thoroughly abused by a number of crazed creatures.

When both Sora and Kairi had sealed their suits completely, the general led them to a hangar filled with identical Gummi ships. One, however, had many people milling around it. Some were fastening steel armor plates to a skeletal frame that had recently been placed over the entire ship. Harris stopped just outside the radius of workers going to and fro.

"This is the ship that will take you to the station. If you notice-"

Sora, who wasn't paying much attention, blurted out, "What's with the metal all over it?"

Shaking his head, the general continued. "This particular ship has been retro-fitted with extra armor plating to take some extra punishment. We don't _think_ you'll need it, but better safe than sorry. You'll leave as soon as the last plates are securely in place."

Minutes later, a lesser officer walked up to Harris, saluted, and reported that the ship was ready. Sora and Kairi climbed into the cockpit along with their Air Force pilot. Sora initially sat in the pilot's seat, but he reluctantly gave up control to Harris's choice of "chauffeur", as he had said.

When all three people were strapped into the cramped military cockpit, the hangar doors opened amid blaring alarms and flashing lights. Sunlight flooded into the hangar as the ship slowly lifted off the ground and drifted towards the opening.

As soon as the ship cleared the doors, the pilot pushed the throttle forwards, sending the ship hurtling away from the hangar. He pulled back hard on the joystick, pointing the Gummi ship's nose skyward. Sora and Kairi, who weren't used to this kind of flight, were snapped backwards by the sudden acceleration. Luckily, their straps only allowed them to get an inch away from the seat, so neither of them was injured. Sora was impressed by the pilot's skill. Even after several years of flying, Sora was less skilled than the current flyer.

As the ship climbed higher into the upper reaches of the atmosphere, the pilot began communicating with the station.

"ODN Platform _Marathon_, this is Osprey Two-One. Request emergency hangar clearance. Over."

"_Osprey Two-One, this is the _Marathon. _Advise cargo. Over_."

"_Marathon,_ Osprey Two-One. Precious cargo onboard. Order direct from Gen. Harris, 10AF. We have OPSEC clearance. Over."

There was a brief pause. Sora thought for a moment that the station would deny them landing clearance, but his fears were soon assuaged.

"_Osprey Two-One, _Marathon. _Operational Security clearance checks out_. _Cleared to land in Hangar Three. Over._"

"Osprey Two-One copies. Reinforcements inbound to Hangar Three."

The ship sped higher into the dark night sky. As the ship reached orbit, Sora and Kairi experienced a moment of vertigo as Aegis's natural gravity faded and the ship's artificial gravity set in.

As a power-saving mechanism, all artificial gravity fields were set to three-quarters the strength of the natural gravity on Aegis. The most immediately noticeable effect of this was the sudden drop in weight for everything. Recruits who had just been transferred to orbital stations often gawked when they saw someone leap up one full deck in the hangar bays. Eventually, however, the low gravity became "normal", which made returning to the full-gravity environment of Aegis interesting.

Sora had never gotten used to the low gravity, but Kairi was perfectly fine with it. She had passed her low- and zero-gravity training courses in near record time, leaving Sora struggling with the strange effects of differing gravity. Both of them had though that Sora would quickly adapt to weightlessness because of his flying experience in Neverland, but he floundered around helplessly. The lack of self-propulsion rendered all his experience moot.

All of this was swimming through Sora's mind as the ship flew towards the station, which drifted lazily closer in the distance. From here, it appeared as if there was no problem. Sunlight glinted off gold-plated rectangular windows and large, beveled observation areas. The three heavy cannons stood clustered around the center of the roughly hexagonal platform, surrounded by smaller turrets and missile ports. Though the metal of the station was a grayish-brown, it nearly disappeared into blackness where it was covered by shadow.

"Five hundred kilometers and closing. Velocity seven hundred meters per second. ETA twelve minutes."

Another thing about space that Sora hadn't gotten used to: massive distances looked so small.

The hangar bay doors gaped open to the vacuum of space, ready for the heavily armored ship to arrive.

***

She could hear them. That was the worst part. The enemy was so close that Darrin could hear their claws scraping on metal as they traveled through the now-sealed air ducts. Any second now, the Heartless could come crashing through the walls, ceiling, and even the floor. However, they hadn't yet. Even though the Marines had been vulnerable three separate times, the Heartless simply wouldn't show themselves. It was almost like they were waiting for something, and it had the Marines spooked. If the Heartless were trying out psychological warfare for the first time, it was working.

Or maybe they were just trying to figure out a way to attack the heavily fortified position that lay ahead of them. Should they come out of the walls, they would be appearing in the middle of a meat grinder. The Marines had set up two stationary machine guns that supplemented the twenty-five rifles that constantly pointed down the hall, ready for any sign of an attack. No matter who won the next standoff, the creatures of darkness would suffer staggering losses.

Captain Darrin was helping to set up a communications link with the station command center. Though her company had been relieved by one of the other ones stationed on board, she was one of the few company-level officers left on the station. Several other company commanders had taken leave this week to celebrate the tenth 'birthday' of the 23rd Orbital Battalion; the security forces stationed onboard the _Marathon_. So she was put in temporary command of the new company defending her location.

Just as she began to test the connections on the comm link, a transmission came over her personal priority channel. That channel was reserved for absolutely critical information passed down by her superiors. Something big must have happened, or they would have waited to use the nearly-completed link she was working on.

"_Captain Darrin, do you read?_"

The voice came through her helmet speakers, so the soldiers helping with the link looked at her in confusion when she turned away in the middle of the setup. "Darrin here."

"_This is a priority message from _Marathon_ command center. Hold position as long as possible._"

_No kidding,_ thought Darrin. _What a useless order to send over my priority channel._

"_Reinforcements are inbound. Sora and Kairi are coming on board right now._"

_Ah, not so useless. This is quite the morale booster. _"Roger. Will comply. Darrin out."

The radio cut out as soon as she acknowledged the order. She switched to her helmet's external speakers.

"Marines! The Keybearers are coming on board as we speak, and they're gonna cut these bastards in two. All we gotta do is sit here and make sure the critters don't jump 'em from behind. We're almost done here. What do you say, Marines?"

The answer was one resounding shout from the entire company.

"_Ooh-rah!_"

***

Sora and Kairi crept along a corridor that showed signs of a recent struggle between the soldiers on board and the Heartless. Bullet holes and claw marks marred the walls and floor, and burn marks were scattered about. Both of them had their Keyblade drawn, ready to take down any and all Heartless they encountered.

But they hadn't encountered a single Heartless yet. Not so much as a wounded Shadow. It was as if the creatures had simply elected to disappear. In ten minutes of traversing hallways, hangars, and intersections, they had seen exactly zero Heartless. Kairi had been communicating with the commanders of the Marine defense posts, trying to glean any useful information at all. When she shared what she had learned with Sora, he became as spooked as the Marines.

"You know, it used to be that there was not _one_ world where I could walk around for ten minutes without being swarmed by these things."

Kairi wanted to agree with him, but she knew that he would become too jittery if she did. She was his sole supporter anymore, and he depended on her for stability. Admitting that she was nervous as well would only serve to scare him more. He could face hordes of monsters without batting an eye, but when his enemy was out of sight, he practically trembled in his extra-large shoes. Kairi knew better than to send him into a paranoid tailspin such as that.

"They must be somewhere else in the station. If the Marines see them, they'll let us know. Come on, we've handled worse situations before. This is nothing."

Sora grimaced in his helmet. "I know. I just don't like fighting in tight quarters. I…" His voice trailed off, leaving a thousand-yard stare on his face as a terrible memory replayed itself in his mind.

Seeing his face, Kairi knew what was going through his head. She took a step to comfort him. Instead of hitting the floor again, though, she slowly drifted upwards. Surprised by her unexpected motion, she flailed her arms in an attempt to regain her balance, accidentally hitting Sora in the process. He spun slowly as he was also lifted off the ground.

The feeling of leaving his stomach behind snapped Sora out of his trance. When he rotated to see Kairi again, she was upside-down in the corridor, floating even with his face.

"Sora… why are you on the ceiling?"

"What? You're the one on the ceiling."

Kairi looked around, the slight motion sending her body gyrating in place. "Where did the gravity go?"

They looked at each other for a moment, Kairi's feet brushing the ceiling. They came to an irrefutable conclusion.

"Heartless in the power core."

They both brushed their hands along the walls until they each grasped one of the built-in handholds and pushed off towards the end of the corridor, floating into an intersection where they caught the support in the center and swung into another hallway that led towards the station's main power source. Kairi began alerting the various Marine posts of the new danger as the radio flooded with panicked orders and eventually slowed down into a series of check-ins. All squads were unharmed, just startled by the sudden disappearance of nature's fundamental force.

As Sora floated past another intersection, he recalled his previous statement. Suddenly, the lack of Heartless contact seemed like a beautiful thing. At least he could count on gravity always being turned on. He shook his head at the sound of that thought. He doubted that the station's gravity, or gravity in general, could be controlled by a switch.

He looked over his shoulder to make sure that Kairi was still with him. Good, she was behind him to the left. She pointed to the right side of a Y-intersection ahead, and they swung themselves into the corridor. Ahead was a door marked TO POWER CORE. Around the label, the words RESTRICTED ACCESS were printed in bright red letters. The door appeared unharmed, but the Heartless were very slippery when it came to going through physical barriers.

As they approached, the door opened on cue to let them through. The station's command center must have been tracking them remotely and opened the door for them. Inside, the lights were out. The corridor stretched into blackness. Sora turned around to see Kairi already activating her helmet's built-in light. He did the same, nodded, and floated into the blackness.

A/N: Wow, this was the longest stretch of no updates I've ever had. All the more unfortunate, considering I'm going to be gone for a while over the next two weeks. I'll try to get one more chapter of this up, as well as a chapter of _Into the Dust_. Hope you liked it!


	7. Home Field Disadvantage

7. Home Field Disadvantage

Sora hadn't been afraid of the dark since the second grade, when Riku had declared that he was no longer afraid of sleeping without a nightlight. Sora decided that he couldn't let Riku have such a distinct victory over him, so he forced himself to stay up all night without any windows open or the nightlight plugged in. Ever since then, the darkness had held no terror for him, not even when it took a physical form and tried to carve him into Keybearer McNuggets.

Nor was he claustrophobic. What he truly feared now was wide open environments with no cover. That was the fault of the Heartless. Sora had become instinctively afraid of large areas. The Heartless juggernauts that represented the final force on a world always resided in huge, cavernous arenas. In the absence of a hyper-powerful enemy colossus, the lesser Heartless forms would attack him from every angle. Sora had learned to take his fight into confined spaces to avoid such assaults. As much as he hated close-quarters combat, it was a survival tactic. In a hallway, the Heartless could only come from two directions: in front and behind.

However, he did _not_ like zero gravity. He preferred to be, as the station's Marines said, 'boots on the ground'. The constant falling sensation agitated him to no end. Zero-G work was hit or miss. Either a person got used to it quickly or they never got used to it. Some people simply weren't cut out for the final frontier. Sora was one of those people.

He knew he was not afraid of the dark and was not claustrophobic. But the hallway he was floating down was dark, cramped, and in the total absence of gravity. His helmet light did little to illuminate the oppressive blackness surrounding him. The triple threat of no light, no maneuvering room, and no gravity sparked a deep sense of dread within him. Every shadow was and enemy; every sound a footstep.

Kairi, unaware of Sora's fear, was checking the station layout on her helmet display. To get to the power core, they'd have to turn twice more in this hallway and then force their way past a decontamination room. The doors would be locked shut; a fail-safe procedure when they lost power. Luckily, both Sora and Kairi had universal keys. Locks weren't the problem. The problem was that the doors were a foot of solid stainless steel with an inch-thick coating of titanium on either side. The entire assembly easily weighed half a ton. Simply getting it to move would be a colossal challenge.

Seeing that they were nearing the first turn, she tapped Sora on his suit's shoulder. Startled, he spun out of control in an attempt to face her. His helmet's faceplate bounced off the corridor's ceiling, slowing him down enough for Kairi to grab hold of his leg and bring him to a halt.

"Sora! Sora, calm down. Calm down, it's just me. Are you alright?"

Sora shook his head in an attempt to refocus himself. "Yeah. I just don't like being in a dark hallway with no gravity."

Kairi let out a pitying giggle. "I meant your head."

"Oh. Oh, I'm fine. These helmets are like tanks."

Breathing a small sigh of relief, she sent him the station map with their location highlighted. "We're in hallway P-02. We need to turn twice to get around part of a cannon assembly, then force our way through this decontamination room," she said, highlighting a door symbol with a 'D' overlaid on it. "The doors are strong enough to withstand any of Hayner's destructive brews, much less demolition equipment. It's going to get interesting once we get there."

Sora nodded, wondering how they would get those doors to open. By his calculations, any such doors would have to weigh over thirty tons. But his calculations were rarely accurate.

The pair of them pushed off the walls and floated down the hallway. As they approached the bend, Kairi noticed something on the map. She tried to get Sora's attention, but it was too late. He had already gotten to the turn.

He looked down the hallway to see a pair of yellow lights hovering near the left-hand wall. The sight of two yellow pinpoints of light had been burned into Sora's psyche long ago. His subconscious mind sent a message to his muscles: _Enemy ahead. Attack._

Summoning his Keyblade, he sprang off the wall behind him, hurtling down the dark passage. His right arm drew the Keyblade behind him in preparation for a devastating single-swipe attack. His left arm followed, ready to swing around and provide extra momentum. Even in zero gravity, the motion was incredibly fluid. He was no longer just Sora. He was a razor-honed instrument of destruction.

The motions had become so subconscious that he even knew what it felt like when the Keyblade obliterated a Heartless. He had memorized the exact amount of resistance each 'species' of Heartless had when the Kingdom Key sliced them in two, which is what made it surprising when he felt the Keyblade come to a dead stop in mid-slash.

Kairi turned the corner to see the teeth of the Kingdom Key stuck a half-inch into the metal wall of the passageway, directly between a pair of LEDs flanking an emergency notice. Because of the magical weapon stuck into it, the notice now read POWER FAILURE WHEN LI HTS FLASHING.

She floated up next to him. "There are notices like this spread around the station. They come on along with the emergency floodlights. They just haven't installed the floodlights in these hallways yet."

Sora grunted, trying to extract the Keyblade from the wall. "Why did it have to be two yellow lights? And how are they even on? The power's out."

"Emergency generators and solar panels."

Sora scowled as he yanked on the blade's handle once more. He felt it budge slightly, so he grasped tighter and pushed off the wall with his legs. Kairi saw what he was doing and tried to stop him.

"Sora, if you do that, you're going to fly into-"

She was interrupted by a cry of victory as Sora managed to free the Keyblade from the metal panel. Instead of soaring headfirst into the opposite wall, as Kairi had expected, he stayed anchored to the spot. She looked at his boots and saw them wedged under a pair of handholds designed to allow mechanics access to the infrastructure above the hall's ceiling panels. Sora turned around, very pleased with himself.

"I know what you were thinking, and I beat you to it. Remember when Riku bet me that I couldn't pull his sword out of the sand on the island with the paopu tree? I pulled really hard, thinking that he had buried it really well. But he only heaped a bit of loose sand over it, and I fell into the ocean. It turned out he bet Wakka that he could make me fall into the water without pushing me. I never got fooled by that again." He smiled a self-satisfied grin and continued down the corridor.

***

Captain Darrin was very displeased. The sudden loss of gravity had turned the choke point into a mess. Barricades floated off of the floor, shells that hadn't been loaded into magazines yet were drifting out of their boxes, cables that had previously been on the floor were now snagging passers-by, and now she had to reorganize everything so that they could have defenders on both the floor and the ceiling.

Though each Marine stationed on an orbital platform had been exhaustively trained in zero-G maneuvering and combat, the sudden and unexpected shift from stuck on the ground to free-floating was something for which one could not train. Even the most battle-hardened soldier experienced a concentration-murdering sense of vertigo for the better part of a minute. It made things dangerous.

Luckily, the sensation worked both ways. If the Heartless in this particular area weren't expecting any gravity loss, they too would be confused and disoriented. But if it were all part of a grand plan, they would have about thirty seconds during which the Marines would be considerably less effective. That made Captain Darrin very unhappy.

Sure enough, within a few seconds, a pair of Shadows came tumbling down the hall, short stubby limbs flailing. They were dispatched by a pair of bursts from a platoon sergeant. The shell casings ejected from the weapon skittered around in zero gravity, eventually either being collected or floating down the hallway past the barricades. The incident brought this new company into focus. They were fighting a real enemy with live ammunition. This was no drill.

Word had spread through the company that Sora and Kairi were onboard and trying to retake the power core. Supposedly, they had been given instructions to turn on the main lights before they powered up the artificial gravity generators. That did little to placate the soldiers who were now on the 'ceiling'. In zero gravity, 'up', 'down', 'floor', and 'ceiling' had little meaning, but once the gravity came back on, the Marines who were 'above' their squad mates would quickly be 'below' them. Darrin had intentionally staggered the lines to prevent anyone from falling on anyone else.

Darrin had been in contact with Kairi momentarily to confirm that the company was still ready to go, but that was it. Since their check-ins with the various defenders, nobody had heard from either of the Keybearers. The captain, who had been in the power core more than once, wondered how they were going to get past the massive blast doors that led to the decontamination rooms. The things could resist every conventional explosive known to man. They might even survive a nuclear blast, provided that they weren't on ground zero. As far as doors went, those ones were as indestructible as they get.

As the minutes ticked by, the platoons manning the barricades switched with those that weren't. Every so often, a few stray Heartless would wander too close and were dealt with quickly and efficiently. The few enemies they encountered couldn't even be considered scouting parties. They were so few and so weak that there was no chance for them to report their findings. They never tried to escape. If one or two managed to survive the first shots, they instantly charged. In short, their behavior was normal Heartless. There was absolutely no evidence of a greater plan or controlling entity. It was as if someone or something had put a great deal of effort into landing Heartless on this platform and neglected to make a plan for when they eventually got them there.

One thing was nagging at the back of Captain Darrin's head, though: if Sora and Kairi had survived so far, they should have made it to the core by now. She hoped that they were simply held up by the doors. If those two fell, any bright, shining hope that Aegis still had would be considerably dimmer. It was something that kept people up at night. The fate of billions of people rested on the survival of two people who were barely past puberty.

She shook her head to clear her mind. She could not afford to needlessly worry about their fate. Whether they survived or not, it was her job to defend this passage with her life. Being distracted by anything could be fatal. She refocused her mind, ending her train of worried thoughts with the hope that it wouldn't be much longer until the gravity came back.

***

"So, do we just point the Keyblade at it and hope for the best, or is there someplace special to unlock it, or… what?"

Sora and Kairi examined the solid slab of matte-gray metal, trying to discern a locking mechanism. As far as they could tell, it was a single piece of unadorned titanium. No markings. No imperfections. Just a flat, impenetrable surface.

Kairi brushed her glove over the metal, trying to find a groove or a hole; anything that might be a clue. "I don't know… This is weird. Why would they lead us here and then not give us any instructions as to how we should get past this?"

In his puzzlement, Sora summoned the Keyblade. He had begun to twirl it when it shot off to his right, pointing his arm straight towards a keypad cleverly camouflaged into the wall. The seams in the metal were nearly invisible, and the etched numbers were only visible from a near-direct angle. The familiar sensation of energy gathering in the blade's tip flowed through Sora, and he watched as a laser-thin line of blue light shot from the Keyblade's tip and into the keypad. Several numbers on the pad glowed blue in sequence, then there was an incredible _BANG_ as enormous locking rods disengaged, leaving the gray door free to move.

Sora shrugged and pushed on the door. Not surprisingly, it didn't move. Sora then tried pushing to the side, realizing that he didn't even know which direction the door moved. It still stayed put. Though it was unlocked, Sora couldn't get enough leverage off of the ground to move the door in any direction.

He tried in vain for ten minutes to get the door to even budge. All his attempts were fruitless. In desperation, he grabbed a handhold on the wall and flung himself at the door, bracing for a jarring impact.

Instead, he felt himself continue floating forward. Just as he realized this, he ran headfirst into a large object. The impact had turned his helmet light off, and he was plunged into complete darkness. He couldn't see Kairi's light anywhere.

"_Sora, what just happened? Where are you?_"

He activated his helmet radio. "I'm not sure. I don't know where I am."

"_Are you okay?_"

"My head hurts a bit, but I'm fine."

There was a relieved sigh over the radio. "_Sora… is your helmet light on?_"

Sora pushed a small button on the side of his helmet. "It is now."

"_Look behind you._"

He grabbed hold of the large object in front of him and spun around. Behind him was a dark oval of scintillating blacks and purples. Light seemed to flow around it, like oil slipping off of water. It was hard to pinpoint its exact location, as it seemed to waver in and out of existence. Reality distorted in proximity to it, as if it were the event horizon of a wormhole. Sora had seen this many times before, but not in years.

A dark portal.

Sora felt his jaw drop. There was a dark portal here. How was there a dark portal here? There were two people on this station that were proficient in magic, and the one that wasn't Sora was a Princess of Heart. Neither of them were capable of manipulating darkness is such a manner.

The only things on this station capable of harnessing darkness like that were the Heartless. But why would they give him free access to the power core? It was the one advantage they now had. If the Heartless controlled the gravity, they controlled the station. If anything, they should be resisting him with everything they've got.

_This doesn't make sense. Why would they take the power core and then just give it back? It – wait a minute…_

"Kairi! Get through the portal. Now!"

"_But-_"

"Just do it!"

Sora saw Kairi's helmet light as she floated through the portal, which closed behind her.

"Sora, what's going on? Who did this?"

He wrapped an arm around her and pushed off the object, sending both of them into the wall they had just gone through.

"What are you doing, Sora? Are you crazy?"

Sora held his Keyblade in front of him. "It's a trap! The Heartless only took the power core to lure us in here!"

As soon as Sora demonstrated his knowledge of the situation out loud, the darkness around them became peppered with little yellow lights. They bobbed up and down, slowly floating in every direction. Kairi looked around in fright.

"Sora… those aren't warning lights."

The only thing Sora could do was nod. He had faced large numbers of Heartless before, but never in darkness… and certainly not in zero gravity. He didn't think he could handle this, even with Kairi helping.

He tried to think of a way to fight so many Heartless in a dark, zero-gravity room with no cover. He racked his mind for any tactics that might help. No, it was useless. The Heartless had a 1000 to 1 tactical advantage. All they had to do was fling themselves at him until he couldn't move his arms anymore. The only thing he could do was fight strategically. Planning. Deception. Turn the enemy's advantages into your own.

_Maybe if I had a week to plan, I'd have a chance. How do I turn their advantages into mine? If I could get some lights in here…_ He looked around, waiting for the Heartless to attack. One pair of eyes became larger and larger, eventually manifesting as a Shadow in Sora's light. He swung the Kingdom Key once, turning the dark creature into a mist.

He swept the room with his light, looking for anything that might help. Kairi swiped at an attacking Shadow, destroying it as well. A patch of color caught Sora's attention. There, on the wall fifty feet away. A panel with color-coded regions.

_That must be the control panel for the core. Of course! If I can turn it on, the lights and gravity will come back!_

As Sora prepared to dive for the panel, the Heartless lunged forward as one. Both Keybearers desperately swung their weapons at the attacking horde, trying to protect themselves. Sora grabbed Kairi's wrist and jumped towards the panel. Hundreds of Heartless that missed the pair crashed into the wall, bouncing off and gyrating into the blackness.

The two Keybearers made it to the panel as the Heartless were recovering from their first attack. Sora turned to Kairi.

"Can you operate this?"

She answered by turning to the panel and pushing a series of buttons in the red area. All Sora could do was fend off the waves of Heartless that attacked from every direction. They came off the walls, the ceiling, the floor, the object in the middle of the room, everywhere. More than once, Sora had to use a Protect spell simply to keep them at bay long enough to tell where the next attack was coming from. The hexagonal shield segments emitted a small _ping_ every time a Heartless bounced off of it.

"How much longer, Kairi?"

She tapped a button twice. "It's done! It just needs a power boost!"

Sora swung the Keyblade viciously, ending his series of blows with a magical blast that sent the nearby Heartless tumbling backwards. When he had sufficient time, he pointed the Keyblade towards the ceiling.

"_Thunder!_"

A thick bolt of yellow lightning struck the control panel, arcing over its surfaces. The room began to vibrate as a deep rumbling resonated through the object in the center of the room. The sound and vibration became more and more powerful, eventually overwhelming their senses. The object began to glow a dim blue, growing stronger by the second. It soon became so powerful that it hurt to look directly at it. The faceplates on the Keybearers' suits polarized to the maximum setting.

They could now see just how large the room was. It was at least as wide as a hangar bay and as tall as four bays stacked lengthwise. However, the space still seemed cramped because of the massive cylinder in the center, pulsing a bright blue. It was an odd contrast to the brown-gray metal of the station. And, scattered around everywhere, there were hundreds of confused Heartless. The sudden light had come as a surprise to the creatures.

A computerized female voice emanated from the control panel. "_Core online at 97 percent functionality. Warning: station gravity offline. To restore, reset region Blue._"

Kairi grabbed hold of the panel and punched the RESET button in the blue-colored area. Almost instantly, she could feel the gravity returning. It began as a slight tug, and then grew stronger and stronger until her feet were planted firmly on the ground.

Sora would have shouted for joy at the return of gravity if he weren't already doing so while watching the Heartless fall from the air, impacting the ground and turning into little clouds of black fog. It was like a bizarre hail. One of them bounced off his head. Kairi giggled at his odd twist of fate. Both of them were absolutely giddy. They had been staring at hundreds of potentially lethal enemies, and now they were all falling like flies.

Kairi activated her helmet radio and called the nearest company. "Captain Darrin! We got the gravity back!"

"_Yeah, we know._"

***

"_Captain Darrin! We got the gravity back!_"

Darrin looked at her squads, which were in shambles. The men who had been posted on the ceiling were now crumpled on the floor, groaning from their fall. Those who were on the floor were trying their hardest to suppress laughter as they continued to hold their defensive posts.

"Yeah, we know."

If it hadn't been such a defensive hazard, Captain Darrin would have found the scene quite comical. There were fully armed and armored Marines lying on the floor, groaning. There were barricades bolted onto the ceiling above them. Someone had managed to get his weapon stuck between two of the metal barriers on the ceiling, and was now jumping to retrieve it. It looked like someone had flipped the floor onto the ceiling and put all the soldiers on the ground.

She needed to get her Marines back into shape, or they might be caught with their hands tied. "Marines! Get up and get back on those posts. We may have the gravity and lights back, but we're far from done here. We just stopped their advances for now. They're still liable to attack us with their full force. Next person to laugh will earn a one-way ticket to the nearest airlock, and you'll be taking the express back to Aegis. So keep your eyes downrange and your trigger fingers ready. We've still got us a station to retake!"

A/N: Another long break between updates. With school starting again soon, I'll be back into a more regimented schedule, so I'll be able to delegate more time to writing on a regular basis. In a little over a week, you can expect regular updates again. I know it seems backwards, but I write more regularly when school is in session.

Anyway, this just about marks the halfway point for this story. There will be seven or eight more chapters, based on how I decide to go about telling the rest of it. Thankfully for me, there will be very little zero-gravity from here on out. Writing actions based on a zero-g environment was a unique challenge, because it's so different from everything we know here on the planet's surface. I _think_ everything is correct, but I've never been in zero-g myself, so I don't know. It would be fun, though. Hope to post the next update within two weeks!


	8. Hull Breach

8. Hull Breach

Hayner was sitting on his couch again. Olette would have scolded him for sitting there for so long if she hadn't been sitting right next to him. They were both fixated on the news, which was reporting the first attack on an orbital platform since the system went live four years ago. The station Marines were doing a good job of holding the attackers off, but everyone knew it was nearly impossible to exterminate a Heartless infestation once it started.

But that's not what had them worried. The talking heads were now saying that Sora and Kairi were on board as well, acting as a potent two-person strike team. Orbital Defense Command wasn't releasing any details, but supposedly they had just retaken a vital platform component.

"It's either the power core or the fire control center," Olette dictated. She was a technical specialist with the Navy. Her degree in mechanical engineering had allowed her to become a commissioned officer immediately upon enlistment. Highly-qualified technicians were few and far between. "Those are the two most vital parts of any station. If I had to guess, I'd say the power core, because it's the most isolated and the Marines would have a tough time getting there fast enough to stop it from being taken in the first place," she continued, her voice picking up a hurried, anxious tone.

Though it was barely daybreak, Hayner was listening intently. Any other morning, he would be groggy and unhappy, but today he was sharp as a razor. He had two friends on that station, and he couldn't do a thing to help them. Being an Army infantryman, he would be busy preparing to fend off ground assaults if, or more likely, when the Heartless got to the surface. He'd just have to trust the Marines, something no Army grunt did unless it was absolutely necessary.

The news continued to report on the fighting, which was unusually sparse and weak. The station's soldiers could have been wielding monkey wrenches and the result would be the same. The Heartless had put a great deal of effort into getting onto that station and were treating it like an apartment rather than a combat zone.

Eventually, the anchor began to announce bulletins to the general populace.

"And finally, all off-duty and reserve military personnel will be called up to active duty within the next seventy-two hours. You will receive individual notifications via telephone or mail."

Hayner and Olette looked at each other. There hadn't been a planet-wide mobilization of troops in the entire history of Aegis, even pre-Heartless. Something big was brewing, something much larger than an assault on a single platform. Both of them were itching to find out what.

***

The new Orbital Defense Network Command Center was radically different with the introduction of SkyEye into their targeting systems. The once-spacious room was now dark and cramped because of all the new computers and cooling equipment they required. Where people could once walk in groups more than three people wide, they now struggled to squirm past each other. Nobody wanted to wait for the permanent installation to be finished. Everyone liked the convenience provided by SkyEye, but the price was paid in maneuvering room.

That fact became painfully obvious today. While there were the normal overseers ranging from 1st Lieutenants to Colonels, the ODNCC was playing host to many people with varying numbers of stars on their collars. Navy Admirals, Air Force and Marine Generals, and intelligence service directors all wanted to be in the loop with the most recent developments. None of them seemed to have gotten the memo that the room was now absolutely packed with hot, loud server carts and cooling fans. The room had built-in revenge for the higher-ups that had disregarded them until now.

The question on everyone's irritated mind was what the Heartless were doing on the _Marathon_. They hadn't staged a true offensive since they had taken the power core. Now that it was safely under human control again, the black critters hadn't done anything but serve as target practice for a few Marines. And now that reinforcements had started arriving from the surface, it seemed that the assault had failed. Though the Heartless were tenacious little dirtbags, they knew when they had been beaten. The fact that they hadn't retreated yet motivated some of the most senior Marine sergeants recommend sending hunter-killer teams throughout the station to sweep it clean.

The platform commander had swiftly rejected the idea, saying it was "a poor use of resources" and assigning the newly arrived reinforcements to the already over-staffed choke points. The junior officers reluctantly followed their orders; silently cursing the commander's panicked self-preservation reaction. Even the off-station Navy Orbital Command, the parent organization of the ODN, was unhappy about the decision, but they were powerless to do anything. Nobody, not even the Parliament Chairman, could countermand an order given by a platform commander in real-time.

Sora and Kairi, however, reported directly to General Harris when on a mission for the military. While they were on an ODN platform, their mission was under the jurisdiction of the Air Force. Harris, who had heard of the commander's poor choice, immediately contacted the pair of Keybearers.

While marching victoriously back to the command center, they both heard Harris come over the radio.

"_Sora, Kairi, do you copy?_"

They looked at each other in confusion. Neither of them had been expecting any contact from Harris until they landed back on the surface. Kairi nodded to Sora, who activated his own microphone to respond.

"We copy, General."

"_You are hereby ordered to sweep the station for Heartless until further notice. Priority is the Outer Ring hallway._"

Now Sora was truly confused. Harris had said that he wouldn't be giving any orders once they were on the station.

"Uh, copy that, General. Why are you giving the orders, though?"

"_The platform commander has ordered all reinforcing Marines to shore up defenses around the command center. ODN Command and the Navy aren't happy. They've sent four SEALS squads to conduct sweeps. They're inbound now, ETA two hours. Until then, you will start the search as Air Force personnel aboard the station._"

"Roger, General. Starting sweep."

Sora turned off the radio and considered what the general had told him. The station commander had angered the Navy enough that they had sent four squads of SEALS aboard. The SEALS – which was an acronym for SEa-Air-Land-Space – were the most mobile troops the Navy had. They could get anywhere, anytime – and quietly. If the Navy played its cards right, the commander might not even know they were there.

Not only were they mobile and stealthy, but they were lethal when undetected. One team was more than enough to conduct a sweep. Four was absolute overkill. What was so special about this station that it merited such an overwhelming response from both the Marine Corps and the Navy?

Neither Sora nor Kairi had an answer as they began making their way to the station's outer ring. Their motions were awkward and clunky; their strides were long and sloppy. They had both grown used to weightlessness, and the newfound mass of their suits threw off their balance. Platform crews used the pun 'space-walk' to describe it.

The pair of Keyblade masters walked through a set of automatic doors and entered the Outer Ring. Unlike the stark metal corridors of the station's innards, the outer ring was designed for the leisure and comfort of the crew. Instead of milled steel floors and smooth alloy walls, the outer ring was a stone path surrounded by vegetation and large windows. Some sections were meant to be coniferous forests, others were grasslands, and some were rainforests. While the crew enjoyed escaping the metal tubes of the rest of their world, the plants served another purpose: they reprocessed some of the carbon dioxide the crew exhaled into oxygen.

Normally, each segment of the hallway was sealed off from the others to prevent the flora and necessary insects and birds from finding their way into other environments. Each area also had its own lighting levels, achieved by putting more or less shielding on the outside of the windows. Now, however, each door was open and emergency floodlights were on. Sora and Kairi now found themselves in a tropical rainforest with blazing white lights overhead. The strange amount of light in what should normally have been a dark, shadowy environment made both of them light-headed and dizzy.

As they stumbled along the path, they found themselves on a worldwide safari: one minute they were deep in the jungle, the next they were in a savannah, the next they were in a deciduous forest. Though they checked everywhere in every area, there was no sign of the Heartless. The closest thing they had to finding a Heartless was something that might have been a claw mark on a bench in the 'residential park' area.

After they passed through a swamp filled with mangroves and water lilies, they found themselves in a dense bamboo forest. Sora tried to look through the tall stalks, but he couldn't ever see more than a foot past the path. He tried to bend the plants back, but their rigid stems wouldn't bend. He became frustrated quickly.

"How are we supposed to check this place? The plants are like rock!"

Kairi, who had continued slightly farther down the path, answered for him.

"We don't need to look anymore."

Intrigued, Sora walked down the path until he stood next to Kairi. What he saw made chills run up his spine.

Through the next doorway, he could see the ravaged remains of a desert oasis. Instead of palms and desert blooms, however, there were only what looked like mangled black leaves the size of a person. The oasis had disappeared, replaced by a bulbous purple dome, pulsing and throbbing as though it were alive. Though the Heartless were nowhere to be seen, neither Sora nor Kairi had any doubt as to the creators of this monstrosity.

The pair of them walked into the desert sands, Keyblades drawn but lowered. The purple blob, if it was alive, was unaware of their presence, as it continued to pulsate as it had before. As they approached it, the size of the dome became more apparent. It was taller than both Keybearers combined and at least twice as wide as it was tall. It extended nearly all the way from the inner wall to the outer window, blocking passage through the section. The only way around it would be to access the roof catwalks.

Kairi kept her distance, hesitant to approach the dome. "What _is_ it, Sora? Have you ever seen anything like this before?"

Sora, who had ventured closer to examine the blob, shook his head as he stared into the cloudy depths. "No. Well, not this big, at least. And not since I was fourteen. Smaller versions of this were all over Oogie Boogie before I defeated him in Halloween Town. He was drawing power from them… Maybe this is how the Heartless are still able to spawn on this station. This… power-node… thing…" He hesitantly poked the blob, sending miniature ripples through the gel. "It doesn't seem to be alive, so maybe it's just some kind of magical anchor."

He prodded the dome again, this time with more force. The ripples spread wider, causing light to bend and refract strangely, but there were no other effects. While Sora had become much more tactically intelligent over the past few years, his first instinct was still to destroy the blob without thinking of the potential consequences.

Sora drew the Keyblade back around his left side, preparing to slash the purple dome with all his strength. The pattern was burned into his memory by now: draw the blade back, twist torso for extra force. Step forward with right foot and rotate hips so that back is almost facing target. Tighten wrist and snap arm forward while twisting hips to face forward. Spin on right foot and transfer momentum to left leg by swinging it forward and absorbing shock with knee.

The Kingdom Key glinted as it whistled through the air. It met the purple substance and encountered little resistance as it quickly passed through. The dome split open, a gaping wound in its side. The cut began to issue a thin black smoke, which quickly enveloped the entire structure. Sora, startled, retreated back to Kairi. Within seconds, the dome was gone, consumed by the black smoke. The Keyblade wielders looked around, waiting for the Heartless to avenge their loss.

Nothing happened. No black forms lurked in the shadows. No claws could be heard scraping on metal. There wasn't as much as a creak in the station's superstructure. Sora shook his head in puzzlement. What was going on? Nothing was playing out as it should. Normally, the Heartless would have swarmed to reclaim their lost property, or at the very least, avenge themselves. But nothing had been 'normal' since the Heartless had gotten onto the station.

The Keyblade disappeared on Sora's command. Kairi followed suit, her flowery blade vanishing into motes of quickly fading light. They both turned to exit the Outer Ring when they heard a very familiar sound behind them: the organic, bubbly sound made by an appearing Heartless.

Both of them whipped around, weapons drawn. There, in the center of the ravaged oasis, was a single Darkball. It hovered there, shuddering and convulsing, seemingly unaware of the two incredibly powerful humans nearby. Kairi moved forward to destroy the unwelcome visitor. The spheroid Heartless didn't react to her advance. She readied her blade, technique perfect. Then the floor erupted.

Heartless began pouring out of the ground by the thousands. The entire oasis was filled with black creatures, filling the gap between the two Keybearers. Sora tried to cut through the horde, but they were too thick. Whenever he cut one down, three more took its place. It was like trying to slash through water. No matter what he did, he couldn't make any forward progress. He began to panic. _They set a trap! They separated us!_

He had to get to Kairi. His mind was focused on finding a way to get through to help her. Drawing the Keyblade to his side, Sora concentrated on his reserve of magical energy.

"_Fire!_"

Giant fireballs ignited in midair, clearing the area around him long enough for him to jump over the horde and get closer to Kairi, who was struggling to hold her own. She was a capable warrior, but not invincible. Even with her advanced armor, she'd eventually fail if Sora couldn't get there.

As Sora landed, he had a flash of déjà vu. This scene was familiar, he had been here before. Where? He racked his mind as best he could while blocking the attacks of a swarm of Shadows. He had a flash of memory: Heartless in a ring of fire. Riku was surrounded. Sora tried to force his way through the attacking mob, but to no avail. Riku was tiring. The Heartless were attacking him wherever his back was turned, like a pack of wolves surrounding a trapped deer. He was falling.

_No. I can't lose Kairi the way I lost Riku. No!_

Summoning up his deepest reserves of energy, Sora changed his grip on the Keyblade. He drew it back, much farther back than any slash required. Lunging forward, he put every ounce of his strength into one colossal motion and hurled the Keyblade forward. It spun end over end, devouring the Heartless in its path. It flew straight and true, through dozens of Heartless, all the way to the bay window next to Kairi. Sora's aim was perfect; it missed her by a fraction of an inch, sticking into the glass.

Sora lunged forward, hoping to reach Kairi before the gap he had created closed. It never did. Instead, every being in the room, human or not, was staring at the enormous window that the Kingdom Key was stuck in. The glass cracked slightly, sending a minute spiderweb pattern through a small area of glass. The full implications of it took an extra second for Sora to process.

_It cracked the glass? But… that's the only thing between us and space. And it's cracked. Our only barrier. Cracked._

Sora swore under his breath.

The pressure in the room continued to push on the window, taking advantage of this new weak point. Cracks began to reach all the way to the edge of the panel and to the overhead support beams. Very soon, it would fail. Sora keyed his radio and quickly stated "Kairi, I hope your suit is sealed."

The glass creaked under the stress one last time before shattering out into the vacuum beyond. With nothing to hold on to, every being in the room was swept away by the departing atmosphere into the blackness of space. The sand was lifted away as well, creating a blinding cloud as it rushed out of the station. Sora and Kairi felt themselves tumbling sickeningly through the void, colliding with Heartless and sharp pieces of glass. Both of them had lost their grip on the Keyblade, and neither was thinking clearly enough to summon it again. They couldn't reorient themselves to anything. All they could do was tumble through the blackness.

Warnings blared in Kairi's helmet. She could hardly concentrate on anything, and the shrill tones only exacerbated the situation. Quickly, she tried to remember how to shut off the alarms. Concentrating with all her mental ability, she slowly shut down every warning: External Pressure Loss, Visual Targeting Overload, Gyroscopic Instability, Loss of Local Communications… the list went on and on.

Once the alarms were silenced, she was able to activate the suit's limited zero-G maneuvering suite. It was an emergency system designed for recovering from a sudden spin-out precisely like the one Kairi was in now. Small chemical thrusters stopped the gyrations and held the suit in a stable position until it could be recovered. It was for emergencies only, however, so wearers couldn't use it to navigate zero-gravity hallways on space stations.

Stable again, she looked around for her husband, whom she couldn't see. Though she was slightly worried about that, she hadn't truly expected to see him. More likely than not he had been blasted on an entirely different vector and was now out of sight. She tried a general radio broadcast. Nothing. Now she was panicking. The range on the suit was more than enough to reach him, wherever he was. Was he alive? Was his suit sealed, or did the decompression kill him? Could the Heartless have gotten a lucky strike in the chaos of the moment? Thoughts raced through her head.

Her helmet speakers crackled, and she heard General Harris's voice come over the radio.

"…_for you now. Hold your position unless absolutely necessary. Activate your emergency recovery system and wait for their arrival. This message will repeat until further notice. General Harris broadcasting to Sora and Kairi. If you can hear this, there is an Air Force Search and Rescue team looking for you now…_"

So there was a team looking for her and Sora. Maybe they had already found Sora? Was he out of his suit? No, the team would have caught the transmission and told her they hadn't found him yet. Was Sora lost in space? Kairi tried the radio one last time.

"Sora, _where are you?_"

* * *

A/N: Wow, super-long update time for an average-sized update. But it was pretty essential to the plot, as the next chapter will make evident. Where is Sora? Is he dead or worse? Only time will tell…

I deleted _Into the Dust_ because of a surprise job offer that is sucking up time along with school. I can only work on two at a time now, and updates will probably be less frequent. However, I may repost it at a later date. Who knows?

Please review, even if it's just "Like it/H8 IT!!1!1!!1".


	9. Fall From Heaven

9. Fall From Heaven

"_Sierra Three, Base. Sector Four sweep complete, zero contact. Over._"

"_Copy Sierra Three, continue sweep into Sectors Five through Seven. Over._"

"_Roger, continuing sweep._"

Kairi had been listening to similar radio chatter for the better part of an hour. She was sitting in the back of one of the Air Force's delta-shaped shuttles, exhausted and worried. Her helmet lay on the seat next to her along the ship's wall, allowing her to run her gloved hands through her hair in frustration. The crew, though amazed that they were flying around with the actual Kairi, left her alone. The pain and worry was obvious on her face.

There had been no contact with Sora since he had been ejected from the station. Not one sensor had registered so much as a peep: radar, optical, infrared… all returned nothing. The radio was silent as well. It was as if he had vanished alongside all the Heartless that had been shot from the station. Nobody had found an errant Heartless, either. Kairi buried her face in her hands. Why were things suddenly disappearing with such frequency?

She had tried to blame herself for Sora's predicament. She wanted to blame herself. It was a mistake to have let him get so far away. General Harris would have called it a 'tactical error'. To Kairi, it was less a matter of flawed tactics as it was a failed responsibility. He may be strong, but he still needed protection occasionally, and Kairi had taken that role for herself. Now she was safe aboard a search and rescue ship while Sora was slowly running out of oxygen somewhere in the void.

However, her reluctant conclusion was that she couldn't have foreseen such a sudden and powerful attack. He hadn't been away from him for much more than ten seconds. Luck had decided to have the Heartless show up at that exact moment of broken formation. It was a quintessential application of Murphy's Law to the real world.

Thinking about her dearest love suffocating in the blackness of space, she wished that she could switch places with him. After everything that he'd done for her, he surely didn't deserve to be in yet another predicament for her, especially one in which he had no control over his own fate. If he had to be in another life-or-death situation, at least let it be one he could fight his way out of. Asphyxiation is difficult to defeat only using the Keyblade.

But then she realized that he'd be in her current situation, namely, sitting in the back of a shuttle wondering if his wife was dead or alive. That was one worry she didn't want him to have. Which was worse: risking her life to secure his safety, or watching him do the same for her? Neither was a good option.

From her seat, Kairi could just see the front window if she strained against her restraints. She wanted to be in the cockpit with the pilots, helping them find Sora in any way possible. But they had been ordered to keep her out of their way, so she resigned to being strapped into one of the seats in back.

In the cockpit, a bulletin came over the administrative frequency. The pilots, who were not accustomed to high-level orders being broadcast directly to them over the admin band, looked at each other in confusion.

"_Sierra Team, unknown object about to begin reentry directly below your position. Radar return parameters do not match station debris. Scan and analyze. Over._"

The shuttle commander complied, pitching the nose down towards the planet and engaging the full-spectrum scan. Radar, optical, and infrared scanners searched over a huge swathe of area beneath the ship, looking for a medium-sized object at an altitude of about thirty kilometers and descending rapidly. There were replies over the radio that used jargon unfamiliar to Kairi. The basic idea she got from what little she did understand was that the entire shuttle squadron in the area was leaving no figurative stone unturned. If there was so much as a sand grain in the space beneath them, it would be detected by at least three ships.

On a display to the right side of the instrument panel, large objects detected were displayed on a screen with relevant data next to them in small green letters. One small green dot flashed something next to it that Kairi couldn't read. The co-pilot, however, took special notice of it.

"Hey, organic chemicals detected on this one."

The shuttle pilot turned to look at the screen.

"Train yer optics on it. Lesse what we gots."

A large screen came to life in the center of the instrument panel, showing the image from the rescue shuttle's long-range camera. It panned over an archipelago of islands off of Aegis's largest continent before the object came into view. Kairi's heart skipped a beat when she could see that it was distinctly humanoid. The crew, however, continued with trained nonchalance.

"Sierra Three to Base. Humanoid detected. Attempting to raise transponder now. Over."

Seconds later, the co-pilot clenched his fists in triumph.

"Got him. It's Sora."

Kairi nearly fainted.

She was brought back to reality, though, by the co-pilot's next statement.

"Base, he's begun reentry interphase. Space-borne recovery not possible. Over."

Kairi couldn't believe what she had heard. Recovery not possible? What did that mean? Did that really mean that… that Sora would fall to Aegis? There was no way he could survive that fall! Even if he could get through the searing heat, there was still the problem of him falling from space at terminal velocity. Though Sora was tough, surviving that would be absolutely inhuman. Her heart outright rejected what her mind was saying: _Sora was going to die._

The co-pilot seemed to share some of Kairi's fear, though much diluted.

"Dammit, we couldn't get him. Now what? How the hell are we going to retake that station?"

The pilot was unfazed. "He's in the new Air Force suit, son."

Incredulous, the young co-pilot stared slack-jawed at his superior. "What the hell good is that going to…?" The pilot cocked his head condescendingly, looking at the inexperienced flyer as though he was the single dumbest person in existence. The co-pilot seemed to get the unspoken message. "Ohhh, right."

***

When Sora finally came to, the first thing he noticed was that there was no gravity. _Great. What a perfect way to wake up. I fight off hundreds of Heartless just to end up in vacuum. Ugh, somebody upstairs must have it in for me. I wonder if-_

_Kairi!_

He looked around in a panic, trying to find his love. She was nowhere in sight. When he caught view of the station, it was barely more than a twinkle in the darkness. The light reflecting off of its metal surfaces bleached all the color out of it at this distance. His helmet display had shut down, so he had no way of telling exactly how far he was from it. All he knew was that it was a really, _really_ long way. If something looked far away in space, it was at least ten times farther away than it seemed. He could only guess how far Kairi had gotten.

The incident in the Outer Ring kept replaying itself in his mind. He should never have strayed so far from her, even for a second. Considering his luck, it was fortunate that they had both survived the initial attack. Whether his sudden and powerful Strike Raid on the mob of Shadows had been a good idea or not was still to be determined. If she survived, he would conclude that while it may not have been the ideal course of action, it was still a good idea.

After some time of frantic search, Sora figured out that he was moving at a very high speed. Because he was not accelerating and didn't have anything to judge himself against, it was not immediately obvious. However, he looked back at the station and saw that it had gotten much smaller in a short time. He was speeding away from the station, away from rescue, and away from Kairi. He flailed him limbs in a panic, trying and failing to slow himself down.

Above him, he could see small dots moving around. They weren't Gummi ships; those were more colorful. They looked like Air Force shuttles. Why were shuttles roaming the sky now? It was far too dangerous. Wait – hadn't General Harris told him that the Air Force had reassigned some old shuttles to Search and Rescue duty? Were those little pinpricks looking for him?

He tried his radio, but it was dead. Irritated, he brought up the emergency power display. The rapid decompression, coupled with debris impact, had damaged much of his equipment. For power-saving purposes, the only two things shown as active were his emergency locator transponder and something labeled 'Emergency Recovery System', whatever that was. Sora could find no way to activate it from the display, much to his dismay. _An emergency system isn't much good if I can't activate it when I need it!_

After some time (had it been just a few minutes or an hour?), Sora could feel himself speeding up. Wherever he was going, he didn't want to get there any faster. He tried to think of some way to slow himself down. With a sudden realization, he summoned his Keyblade. _Gotta think of a spell that shoots forward. Maybe I can use it to slow myself down if I point it so that it pushes me away from wherever I'm going. One of the N-guy's laws, right? Notown? No, Now, New, Newton! That's it! Which number? One? Three? How many are there, anyway? Man, I always sucked at physics…_

Pointing the Keyblade in the direction he was going, he thought of his spell. Summoning his reserves of concentration, Sora cast his spell.

"Deep freeze!"

Ice crystals shot forward into the blackness, disintegrating several meters away from him. The Keyblade kicked back at him, slowing his progress somewhat. He felt a small rush of euphoria at his discovery. However, the rush was short-lived, for he could feel himself speeding up again. In his frustration and despair, he simply went limp. Exhaustion had taken its toll. The long time struggling against space coupled with fighting aboard the _Marathon_ in his armored suit had drained his energy.

As he sped up, he felt a small bump. Looking around, he saw nothing. The only thing he felt was a slight heat penetrating the suit. It was nothing serious, just a bit of extra warmth. Considering how hot and sweaty he already was, he was not surprised he was having heat flashes. His concern only came in when the heat didn't go away. Instead, it grew more intense with each passing second.

Sora looked to his sides, trying to find the source of the heat. He was shocked to see his shoulders glowing a pale orange, starkly contrasting with the drab gray of the rest of the suit. He looked straight up and made a shocking discovery: he was going into reentry upside-down and head first.

The bump must have been him hitting the very edge of the atmosphere. Now he was beginning to fall back to the planet like a spaceship from before the discovery of Gummi blocks. The vital difference was that Sora didn't have a heat shield. Though his suit was climate-controlled and heat-resistant, it couldn't withstand the inferno of deorbiting. He'd be cooked before he hit the stratosphere. If that miraculously didn't happen, he'd still be hurtling towards the ground at upwards of 150 kilometers per hour. _Given the choice, I'd take the 'hitting the ground' option. Burning to death sounds so painful. Well, I guess I'm going to find out, aren't I? I don't wanna die! Not here. Not now. I have so much left to do! This isn't fair! I… I… _

_I just hope Kairi is okay._

He would have shed a small tear, but he was rocked by a thick layer of air that knocked him unconscious as he impacted it. His limp form continued its descent, building a brighter and hotter aura around him. If he had been conscious, he would have heard a mechanical female voice in his helmet speakers.

"_Initiating Emergency Recovery System._"

The back panel of Sora's armor was jettisoned, followed quickly by a small circular drogue chute. The chute's line twanged taut, instantly decelerating Sora. He was snapped around by the small metal cable, changing his descent to a feet-first fall. There was still some noticeable fire around his boots, but it was far less intense than the glowing around his helmet and shoulders.

He fell and fell, slowed by the drogue chute behind him. As the atmosphere thickened, the fire returned, burning more intensely than ever. With the new fire came a second chute, unfurling from its super-compressed state. Again, the heat dissipated as Sora's speed was gradually reduced. Though he was no longer burning, impact with the ground would still be fatal at this speed.

As he approached the surface, a final parachute deployed. Unlike the first two, it was a full parachute, designed to slow his impact to a manageable speed. It would still be painfully fast, though. The chutes had to be light and small enough to be compacted into the small back panel on the armor. The thin fabric, lined with a silvery metal, unfurled in the early morning sun, its arching rectangular shape reflecting the orange rays in every direction.

Sora, who had been unconscious for the entire descent, awoke to see rolling hills below him, the valleys between scattered with small towns. To his right, the hills gave way to a small strip of flat land next to the ocean. The sun was just beginning to poke out from below the horizon. On his helmet display, the word ALTITUDE was shown above a steadily decreasing number of meters. Sora looked up to see the giant silver parachute above him. He looked down and saw his boots dangling in midair above the coastline. He could only thing one thing.

_Why do I always wake up in the weirdest situations?_

***

Kairi ran off the Gummi ship towards the small base complex. She had spent the last four hours trying to get off the rescue shuttle and onto a ship that could land on the surface. The shuttles, while quick and agile in orbit, couldn't fly in the atmosphere. She had come very close to threatening the shuttle crew if they didn't take her to someplace where she could get a ride to the surface. Word had spread about the incident on the _Marathon_, and nobody was stupid enough to get between her and Sora.

She wasn't entirely sure how he had survived. The pilots of both the shuttle and the Gummi ship kept saying something about the new Air Force suit he was in. Kairi assumed there must be a new feature in it. She and Sora were scheduled for a training session sometime next month. Would it have been about this new feature?

The instant she saw the gray suit, however, all other thoughts were pushed out of her mind. Jumping to the ground, she ran from the Gummi ship pad to the small cohort of medics and guards that surrounded Sora. The guards formed a human wall to check her advance, and it took all of Kairi's effort and better judgment to not plow through them. If they were keeping her away form Sora, they must have a good reason for it.

As if in cue, the guard in the center explained his actions. "He's been slightly wounded from his descent. His right femur was broken and he has two cracked ribs. Other than that, he's alright. Just don't expect him to be able to support your weight.

Kairi looked between the guards. Sure enough, he was leaning on a crutch with his leg armor being disassembled. The torso segment was already gone; medics had gotten to work wrapping his chest in supportive bandages. Promising to not hurt him, Kairi walked forward to her husband, restraining herself from wrapping him in her arms and squeezing. He didn't need any more cracked ribs.

Sora could sense Kairi's longing and took action himself. With his one free arm, he pulled her close and planted his lips firmly on hers. She reciprocated, making sure not to touch his torso. She simply let his arm support her, no small feat considering the amount of armor she was still in. They didn't move for what seemed like an eternity, both rejoicing in the fact that the other was still alive and mostly unharmed. Neither had truly believed that the other would survive. Tears began to fall from both of them. They were still 'them'. Nobody was leaving anyone else yet.

***

General Harris stood smugly in the darkened videoconference room of his headquarters. _He_ was the one that had insisted on the new modifications to the Air Force's vacuum suit, so technically _he_ had saved Sora's life. Normally, he was not one to let his accomplishments go to his head, but this was absolutely _monumental_. Saving a Keybearer? For that to happen, there first needed to _be_ a Keybearer, which only happened once every century at best. The odds were long to begin with.

He snickered to himself. _Mommy always told me I'd do something important someday._

The giant display flickered to life, interrupting his comedic reverie. On it, there was a shaky picture of Sora as he was being transported to a local hospital for further care for his fall. The mobile videoconference screen, though handy, was not particularly stable, leading to some mild nausea among watchers with weak stomachs.

Harris turned on his earpiece-microphone combo. "Sora, do you read me?"

Sora nodded, his fingertips pressing against his own earpiece. "_Loud and clear-ish, General. You're coming in a bit fuzzy._"

"Is it a problem?"

"_Not at all._"

The General shifted his microphone. "Well then, I'm glad you're alive. I trust you enjoyed my new parachute system?"

"_Everything except the landing._"

Harris allowed himself a small laugh. "It's meant to save your life, Sora, not to be comfortable."

"_It broke my leg._"

"But you aren't dead. That's the important part. Besides, you'll be able to get that healed fairly quickly. I hear the local healer around there is quite talented. She'll get you fixed up in no time. So stop being such a baby."

Sora's face scrunched in irritation. "_Is there something important you have to tell me, General? I know these videoconference sessions aren't cheap._"

Harris nodded his head, his face taking on a grave expression. "As a matter of fact, yes. While your actions aboard the _Marathon_ saved Kairi and yourself, it sparked simultaneous Heartless attacks at all defensive locations the Marines had set up. Whatever you did, it sure pissed them off. They broke through in many places, taking the command center and other vital points. We're still picking up lifeboats, but the projected station survival rate is below 15 percent. Most ODN and Navy personnel were lost, along with almost every Marine on board. The _Marathon_ now belongs to the Heartless."

Eyes wide in disbelief, Sora turned to his right to listen to an indistinguishable voice from off-screen. After a few seconds, he replied. "Less than 15 percent. We've lost the station." There was a barely audible gasp, which the general recognized as belonging to Kairi.

Wanting to clarify the facts, Harris spoke up again. "This was the predicted outcome from the beginning, Sora. We never actually expected you to be able to hold that station. Your deployment was a last-ditch effort to stave off the inevitable." He saw a slightly offended expression come across the Keybearer's face. "Sora, we could have sent every Special Forces team in Aegis to that station and you wouldn't have been able to hold it. There were simply too many. Frankly, I'm surprised you didn't have to jump out a station airlock five minutes after you got there."

"_Very funny, General._"

"I'm serious. That was going to be my evacuation recommendation. No way was I going to risk you fighting your way back to a potentially infested hangar bay."

Sora's face displayed an expression of pure shock. "_So wait… you _expected_ me to jump?_"

Harris nodded with a smirk. "Why else give you an Air Force suit when you were going to be amongst Marines?"

Silence. Then, "_I'd been wondering about that._"

"Well, now you have your answer." A technician knocked at the door of the videoconference room. Harris invited her in, curious as to what was so important that he would be interrupted in the middle of a videoconference with Sora. The gray-clad tech handed Harris a small memory chip, whispering something in his one uncovered ear. He nodded, returning his attention to Sora.

"I've just been handed a transmission from SkyEye. I'm told it has unusual content. We'll resume this conference from the base VC room when you've been released from the hospital."

The spiky-haired Keyblade master nodded once, then turned off his camera, leaving the screen black with small white test reading NO INPUT in the middle of the display. Harris walked to a nearby console, examining the chip as he went, trying to divine its secrets before he had to wait for the computer to display it. He slid the small black memory chip into a slot on the computer.

The screen's display changed from small error text in the center to a computer-to-computer communiqué with the SkyEye emblem watermarked in the center of the screen. Harris eyes scanned the green text, widening as he read further. When he finished reading the message, he ran out of the room, leaving the display on.

***

INCOMING TRANSMISSION

…

BEGIN DECRYPTION

…

…

…

DECRYPTION COMPLETE. CONTENTS:

Report: Long-Range Sensor Satellite 03 _Sentry_

Status: Solar Panel #3 Damaged – Replacement Necessary

Priority: Important

/ALERT!

/ANOMALOUS WARP JUMP DETECTED

RANGE: approx. 1.7 x 10^13 km

MASS: 680,000,000 – 750,000,000 kg

COMPOSITION:

- (NO DATA – OUT OF RANGE)

CONCLUSION: GUMMI SHIP FLEET-WIDE JUMP

RECOMMENDATION: BRING ALL FORCES TO READINESS LEVEL ALPHA.

INITIATE ORBITAL BLOCKADE.

EVACUATE NON-COMBAT PERSONNEL FROM ORBITAL PLATFORMS.

PREPARE NUCLEAR MINE-LAYING CRAF%7

--WARNING! HIGH-SPEED MASS INBOUND!

--ORIGIN: ODN PLATFORM _Marathon_

…

$$.":+=

…

*

CONTACT LOST.

CONNECTION TERMINATED AT HOST


	10. Outpost

10. Outpost

"Ow!"

"What are you trying to do? Kill him? You're supposed-"

"Kairi, it's okay. They just accidentally grazed my side. I'll be fine."

"Not if they keep torturing you like this! Get out of my way. I can help him more than any of you."

"Ma'am, please, we're trained professionals-"

"I can see that, what with how well you're handling him."

The nurses trying to lift Sora from the stretcher to the hospital bed looked at each other in irritation. Kairi hadn't let them do anything without demanding to be involved. When they denied her, she then demanded to know exactly what they were going to do. She had quickly gotten on their nerves, and now that they were trying to lift a muscular, fully-grown man in half a suit of ballistic armor onto another surface, they couldn't take it anymore.

"Ma'am, if you don't let us do our job, we'll be forced to call security."

Kairi was incensed by the threat. "'We'?! You mean you and the rest of the Sadist Squad over there? I could paralyze you all before you made it a foot towards the call button!"

Seeing that there was no hope for the nurses to calm Kairi down, Sora spoke up. "Kairi, please. Just let them get me on the bed and you won't have to deal with them anymore."

"Sora, I-"

"Please, Kairi?" Sora tried his best to give her puppy-dog eyes. Even when he was fully grown, Sora was always able to wield considerable influence over her with that technique.

The etched-stone look of disapproval on Kairi's face slowly softened as she tried to hold back a grin. Sora smiled as he saw his efforts taking effect on her. Finally, in a last-ditch attempt to seem angry, Kairi set her hands on her hips and defiantly said, "Fine. But I'll be back as soon as you're on that bed, and these 'nurses' had better be gone." She spun on her heel and walked out of the room, still trying to suppress a grin.

The four nurses breathed a collective sigh of relief. They might finally get to concentrate on the already difficult task at hand. They all took their places around the stretcher, grasping the sheet Sora lay on.

"Lift on three. One… two… three."

The nurses lifted in unison, struggling under the combined weight of Sora and his armor. They quickly moved him to the bed; so quickly, in fact, that he was rolled onto his side with the cracked ribs. He howled in pain, but cut it short, remembering that Kairi was still looking for a reason to put a nurse's head on a pike.

Once he was securely on the mattress, the nurses called in a pair of military technicians, who disassembled the remainder of the suit, which was mostly on his arms and his one good leg. Once the armor was fully disassembled, the woman he assumed was the lead nurse began attaching electrodes to his chest, being extra cautious not to press very hard on the right side of his ribcage. The other three busied themselves with respiration monitors, IV drips, and several other machines Sora didn't recognize.

The pain in his side slowly ebbed as the four exhausted, irritated nurses left the room, one by one, until Sora was alone in the bed. The only noise was the consistent beeping of the EKG monitoring his heart rate. Any second now, Kairi would come through the door, huffing and puffing about the nurses trying to kill him or some other nonsense. A minute passed. No Kairi. Two minutes. Five. Ten.

Fifteen minutes later, Kairi came storming through the door, looking angrier than ever. Sora had learned, through many, _many_ painful experiences, not to ask her what was wrong when she got like this. The best course of action was usually to let her steam for about an hour, after which she'd be alright. But this was different. He couldn't exactly avoid her for an hour while stuck on a hospital bed.

"So… what happened?" he asked nervously.

Kairi was obviously holding back fury. "I went to the front desk to complain about those nurses. The receptionist brought out the head of the nurse department whatever-it's-called, who wanted to call out the Dean of Medicine, but she was busy arguing with one of her doctors, so the lead nurse-person threatened to call security if I got in the way again."

"I think you're being a bit over-protective, sweetie."

"Everyone seems to fall back on this all-powerful 'security' when they get irritated."

"I'm a big boy now. I can handle myself."

"What kind of weapons do security guards at a hospital carry, anyway?"

"I understand that you're really strung out from earlier today, but now we can just relax for a while.

"They'd better have tanks if they want to stop me."

"We're having totally different conversations, aren't we?"

"Yes we are."

The couple stared at each other for a second before breaking out in fits of giggles. It tended to be this way with the two of them. Kairi got overprotective of her husband, Sora tried to calm her down, and neither got anything accomplished. It was becoming a hospital-visit ritual for them.

Sora's bed was fairly large; large enough for Kairi to lie down next to him to his uninjured left side. She snuggled up to him, giving him a light kiss on his cheek. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"Mmm, okay might be a bit of a stretch."

Kairi smiled. "Alright. I'm glad you're alive."

"Not as glad as I am."

Her eyes grew wide as she propped herself up on her arm. "Is that so?"

"Uh huh."

"Nuh uh."

"Uh huh." "Nuh uh." "Uh huh." "Nuh uh." "Uh huh." "Nuh uh." The argument, if it could be called that, continued for the better part of a minute before Sora caved.

"Alright, you're more glad that I'm alive than I am. Happy?"

She nestled up against him again, closing her eyes and resting her head on his shoulder. "Now I am."

Sora sighed, feeling a stab of pain as his injured ribs were stimulated by his expanding lungs. It wasn't as bad as it had been even a few minutes ago. Even when he hadn't cast a spell consciously, the Keyblade's magical restorative powers were already hard at work repairing his bones. It was a wonderful gift to someone who often found himself in hospitals.

Next to him, Kairi shifted ever so slightly. "Well, you're back in the hospital."

"Yep."

"Again."

He couldn't stifle a small laugh. "Yeah, again. Don't make a big thing out of it."

"I'm not going to. I just expect my patience to be repaid when I'm here."

Sora grinned. "Yeah, like you're ever going to be hospitalized for anything."

"What about having kids?"

That stopped Sora's train of thought immediately. They had never talked about having kids before. Sure, the topic of small children in their household had come up before, but it was usually Hayner taunting them. There had never been serious conversation about starting a family. Sora didn't know what to say, so he told her the truth.

"We've never talked about it."

"I know." She opened her eyes, rubbing them with her free hand. "But I do want to have kids some day. Don't you?"

"I… guess…"

Kairi propped herself up again. "Don't you?"

Sora replied squeamishly. "Well, yeah, except… I dunno, I mean… we haven't talked about it, and I'm not sure I'm ready for it… I mean, what kind of a dad would I make? I don't know the first thing about being a parent."

"We'll learn together. We always do."

"But what if we screw up?"

"Then we'll rename him Riku."

Sora burst out into laughter, ignoring the still-milder pain in his side. The memory of his friend, though still painful to recall at times, was appreciated in the right circumstances.

He caught his breath again, replying through gasps for air. "I guess… you're right… but still… I dunno about it… just yet…"

Kairi shifted again, trying to find a comfortable position after Sora's outburst. "It doesn't have to be soon. I still want you all to myself for a while yet. I'm not going to let any spiky-haired offspring distract you until I'm ready for it." She poked his nose with an extended finger. "You haven't escaped me yet. Ha ha ha!"

A knock on the door stopped Sora before he could reply. Kairi quickly got off the bed before a doctor holding a clipboard walked into the room. He took a quick look at the pair of occupants, his face betraying a hint of surprise at his patient before going back to a gentle but businesslike expression.

"I don't even have to ask if I'm in the right room, so let's get to business." He looked down at his clipboard, scanning the text it held. "Okay, last hospital visit… broken collarbone from tripping and impacting a rock on the beach. Visit before that… fractured wrist from falling down stairs. Visit before that… fractured tibia from – okay, I'm seeing the pattern."

He looked back up at Sora. "From what it seems, you heal yourself with amazing speed. You should be fully healed in a couple of days. Normally, I'd tell you to take it easy until then, but it seems like you're going to be needed soon. I'll prescribe a fairly powerful painkiller to help you through the worst of it, but you'll still be a bit tender for a while. Ever take Vicodin before?"

Kairi's eyes widened at a memory of Sora after he had been prescribed Vicodin. He was high as a kite for a week. Anything and everything could set off a laughing fit that would last for nearly a half an hour. When friends asked about the incident, she jokingly described it as "the one time I considered killing him". In the wake of recent events, she was not ready for another round of that.

"Eh… bad idea," Sora replied.

"Yeah, it's best to try something else," Kairi remarked, "His last experience with Vicodin was… unfortunate. A drug without any psychological effects is best."

The doctor pursed his lips in thought. "Well, that limits our choices to some very dangerous drugs. I think methadone might work, but you're going to have to be very careful with it. In the wrong quantity, at the wrong time, mixed with the wrong chemicals… it's highly toxic."

Sora chuckled. "I don't think that will be a problem. I'll only need one dose before I'm healed again."

"Very well. I'll get you the pills. Once you take them, you can check out at the front desk and be on your way."

Turning on his heel, the white-coated doctor left the room. Sora swung his legs over the edge of the bed, leaning forward and groaning. "Man, I gotta stop falling from high places. It's gonna catch up with me soon." Kairi shook her head and smiled, incredulous. Only Sora could shake off falling from space so casually.

She got up and sat on the bed next to him. Her legs weren't quite long enough to reach the floor, so she was able to swing them back and forth. She was eager to get back to their previous conversation. "So…"

Sora got the hint. "We'll talk more about that later, I promise. For now, let's make sure we've got a safe place to raise them."

***

General Harris sat in a heavily cushioned office chair in a highly secure briefing room deep below the surface of Aegis. All the major commanders had been gathered to formulate a new strategy in the wake of the disaster aboard the _Marathon_. Harris was the youngest man in the room by at least a decade, and it made him uncomfortable. In his dealings with the slightly more youthful Sora and Kairi, he had forgotten that he was the youngest man in history to wear stars on his collar.

At one end of the darkened room, a colonel was briefing the room on the situation so far. Harris was only somewhat attentive. He knew the situation. Hell, he practically created it. If it weren't for his decision to send Sora and Kairi onto that station, there wouldn't be a situation on board. There wouldn't _be_ an 'on board'. Station protocol would have dictated a self-destruction in order to prevent it from being used as an orbital outpost for the Heartless.

The colonel moved on to the events after the station's loss. "We know, through a message from SkyEye's main network, that the Heartless used the _Marathon_'s main cannons to destroy the long-range sensor satellite _Sentry_. Moments before destruction, the satellite detected a mass warp jump larger than any before seen. The estimated total mass of the fleet that jumped is predicted to be more than six hundred and eighty million kilograms. Analysis concludes that it is a Heartless fleet of unprecedented size and power intent on exploiting the newly-created hole in our defenses.

"Orbital patrols have been reassigned to strike missions intent on destroying the _Marathon_, but station defenses make this-"

An angry voice from the darkness spoke up. "Hold on, hold on. You're talking about destroying an orbital defense platform? _The_ vital link in our defensive armor?"

The colonel looked squeamish. "Yes sir. The odds of recovering it are slim to none, and we've already seen it used against our-"

The voice, which Harris recognized as the four-star General Petrov, Commandant of the Marine Corps, replied in astonishment. "This is ridiculous! That station is directly above one of the biggest cities on Aegis. We can't leave a gaping hole over twenty million people like that."

A female voice answered him. "General, are you suggesting we simply let the Heartless use the _Marathon_ as a staging ground for an assault on our world?"

There was a slight pause. "I see your reasoning, Admiral Hallerworth, but even your Second Fleet doesn't have enough vessels to cover the hole left by one of those juggernauts, Gummi or conventional."

"If we simply let the station be, there will be nothing to stop this incoming fleet from prancing right through our orbital perimeter."

"I'm not suggesting we let the Heartless squat on our big guns. I'm saying we take the station back by force."

Petrov stood up and walked to the projector screen, accidentally bumping into the colonel on his way. "Outta my way, son; I've got some real estate to take back."

There was rapid-fire tapping on an unseen keyboard near the projector, and the screen changed from a display of the airspace around the compromised station to a view of the station with multiple arrows leading to it. "This is the current form of the plan to retake the _Marathon_."

The general flicked his wrist, extending a long metal pointer. "The blue arrows represent inbound vectors of Navy SEAL boarding craft, the green ones are Marine Special Forces. If the SEALs can execute a stealthy infiltration of the hangar bays, we can land as many troops as we need to retake the station. If not, Marine SF teams will breach through the station's windows, storming the Outer Ring and moving inwards. General Houston? What's our readiness for this operation?"

The man sitting across the table from Harris shuffled some papers, looking for the needed figures. "We can have eight hundred Special Forces troopers on the station with ninety minutes' notice."

The Marine general at the screen nodded. "Admiral? Are your SEAL teams ready?"

A sigh of resignation could be heard to Harris's right. "Seventy-four SEALs are ready to board the station in sixty minutes' time." The Marine general was about to continue when he was interrupted again by Admiral Hallerworth. "I certainly hope you know what you're doing, Petrov. I don't like committing so many Special Warfare troops to such a suicidal mission."

Though she only wore three stars, Hallerworth was usually supported by most of the room when she criticized Petrov's overly daring tactics. He couldn't simply ignore her, but he was absolutely determined to make this happen. "Duly noted, Admiral. Any other comments form anyone before we get started?"

Harris saw his chance. "Sir, you get every man, woman, and child on Aegis, put a rifle in their hands, and have them board that station, and you will still not get it back. Not without the most potent assets we have available to us."

General Petrov, obviously ruffled by a subordinate officer from another military branch criticizing his plan, replied angrily. "What would those 'assets' be, Major General Harris?"

Harris could feel the two lonely stars on his collar like never before. Petrov had the power to destroy his career for good with a few words. He swallowed nervously and explained himself. "I am speaking here of Sora and Kairi."

Murmurs of confusion swept through the room before Petrov silenced them with his booming voice. "Maybe you forget, General. Sora is in the hospital recovering from several broken bones, thanks to your decision to send him aboard the _Marathon_ in the first place."

Checking his latest report, Harris replied to the contrary. Sora had been released almost a half an hour ago with a simple dose of powerful painkillers. He'd been up and about since then, his mobility unaffected. By the time he would get to the station, his bones would be nearly completely healed.

Petrov continued his objections. "Be that as it may, they already had their chance, and they failed. What makes you think they can do any better this time around?"

"Well, sir, all the Marines next to them."

Immediately, Harris could see Petrov soften towards the idea. He had gotten a reputation for wanting to give the Marine Corps credit for the defense of Aegis. The idea that even Sora and Kairi couldn't retake the station without the help of the Marines appealed greatly to the egotistical general. He slowly nodded his head. "Very well, General. Get your operatives back into orbit. The assault begins in an hour."

The lights slowly brightened in the room, and the commanders seated at the table all rose and began to file into elevators bound for the surface. Harris gathered his files and wiped the sweat off his brow. Not only was the room a bit too hot, his face-off with Petrov had made him perspire. As he rose, he heard a voice address him from behind.

"That was quite well done, General."

He snapped around to see Admiral Hallerworth facing him, a small smile on her face. Harris snapped to attention as the superior officer addressed him. "Thank you, ma'am."

"As you were." Harris relaxed his posture. The Admiral picked up several manila folders, cradling them in her right arm. She appeared younger than her fifty-eight years; her skin had just begun to wrinkle, and her hair hadn't yet begun to gray. Her small stature belied the brilliant orbital tactician and shrewd politician she was.

She began walking towards the elevator, motioning for Harris to follow. She made sure Petrov took a different exit before continuing. "It takes a lot of guts to stand up to Petrov like that, Harris, and you did it perfectly. It's always a joy to see someone else learn how to manipulate the Commandant's ego. Making sure the Marines got credit… you play the game well. I think those stars on your collar are destined for more company in the future."

"It's a possibility, ma'am. I haven't been very interested in seeking promotions recently."

They both entered an elevator, where Hallerworth pushed the button for the surface. "Whether or not you climb any higher among the general officers is irrelevant to the fact that you know very well how to do things so that your ideas are the ones that get used. I look forward to cooperating with you in many of these meetings in the future. My little group could benefit greatly from someone like you. We're lacking in younger voices, and our only Air Force man retired last year."

Harris was unsure of how to respond. Compliments from Hallerworth were very rare, and only a select few were invited into her small coalition. It was a chance that only came around once in a lifetime. It might be the only opportunity for the Air Force to get any kind of decent representation in strategy meetings. "I'd be honored if you'd accept me."

"I'd be glad to." Her voice took on a darker tone. "But you'd better make damn sure Sora and Kairi get that station back. Petrov is the only one who can't see that normal humans armed with conventional weapons are incapable of retaking that station. The military isn't made of supermen, though Special Warfare occasionally makes it seem so." She allowed herself a small smile at her own joke, but quickly regained her serious tone. "You're the only one with access to that kind of power. Make it worth something."

Nodding his head, Harris replied confidently. "I intend to."

***

Sora was barely out of the hospital doors before an Air Force car arrived to take him away. During his trip, an officer in the passenger seat explained the plan to wrest control of the _Marathon_ away from the Heartless. He understood the basic tactics involved, but he couldn't help but wonder why he was executing essentially the same mission as earlier that day.

When the briefing was finished, the partition between the front and back seats automatically slid shut. Sora turned to Kairi, a look of mock surprise on his face. "Whoa… déjà vu."

Kairi smiled and nodded in agreement. "Yes, it seems like we're only half done for today."

"It's… almost as if I've lived through this before and didn't particularly enjoy it."

She had to cover her mouth with her hands to suppress giggles. Sora smiled. "I'm right, though, aren't I? I mean, nothing's changed. The only difference is that now there's a big hole in one hallway."

"And there are no people on board."

Sora held up his hand. "We didn't run into anyone on board last time. That won't change anything."

"I suppose you're right. We'll just have to hope that we can do better under the same circumstances as our last attempt."

The car arrived at the nearest Air Force base in ten minutes. The next thirty-five minutes were spent getting Sora a new suit, finding a suitable transport to the station, getting briefed on exactly where and how they'd get on the station, what they'd do when they got there, and finally preparing for takeoff.

Sora and Kairi were assigned to a SEAL boarding craft. They'd be the first ship to make contact with the station. Their first objective was to stealthily retake a single hangar bay so the Marines had a safe place to stage their assault. From there, it was a matter of staying undetected for as long as possible while taking out the Heartless. Once the human presence aboard the station had been detected, tactics would shift from infiltration to Sora's personal favorite: shock and awe.

With the inclusion of the two Keybearers, the plan seemed sound enough. Nobody could tear through a Heartless horde like Sora, and Kairi's magical talents were almost unmatched. Someone had once said that the pair wasn't a combat team, because 'combat' implies that the enemy has a decent chance of fighting back. They were more of a disposal team. That joke spawned new jokes, including a proposition for an official Keybearer insignia with two Keyblades crossed behind a garbage can. The truth was that they were nearly unstoppable. Their only loss had been less than twelve hours ago.

'Disposal team' was the mindset that Sora and Kairi had trained themselves to get into before each fight. It helped deemphasize each encounter, like it was 'just another day at the office'. But today, mere hours after their first defeat in years, they felt more like moving targets than anything else.

Kairi watched the mission clock in her helmet display count down to T minus fourteen minutes. Takeoff would be in less than a minute. They'd begin their attack when the clock reached T minus zero. At T plus two hours, if everything went according to plan, they'd have the station back. It was sound in principle, but she felt herself doubting the already dubious idea that the Heartless grip on the station could be broken.

The engines rumbled on the ship as the countdown neared T minus thirteen minutes. Ten ships, carrying seventy-four commandos and two Keybearers, slowly rose off the ground. The lead ship nosed up and accelerated into the sky, followed by the other nine. For the second time in twenty-four hours, Kairi felt herself being pressed into her seat by intense G-forces. This time, however, there was more pressing on her than before, an apprehension that couldn't be explained. This time, she couldn't help but think that the ship, though it was flying into the sky, would be carrying her to the gates of hell.

Disclaimer: Vicodin is a registered trademark and is not affiliated with the author, , Disney or Square Enix, Inc (or their affiliates).

A/N ^ _That's_ a proper disclaimer.

Another long time between updates, I know. Blame it on stringent college applications and lazy counselors. Thank God for CommonApp, though, Allows for more of a shotgun, 'see what sticks' approach.

Future updates will be much closer together for two reasons: no more apps need to be done, and the plot is finishing up soon. _The Enemy Within_ will be updated far less until this is finished.

Until next time!


	11. The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday

11. The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday

The ship carrying six commandos and the two Keybearers silently flew towards the infested station. Pre-mission nervousness had everyone's heart rate up and breathing shallow. Once first contact was made, the jitters went away, but until then, everyone was jumpy and short-fused. Sora, Kairi, and the SEALS were all used to fighting against lopsided odds, which helped to keep some semblance of calm in the ship. Nobody was fooled by the façade, though; they could all tell that everyone else was loathing being stuck in a ship bound for a powerful enemy.

In an attempt to distract himself, Sora examined the suit being worn by one of the SEALS next to him. The armor, if it could be called that, had no discernable plates or reinforcement. It was all one piece of thick black fabric, but fabric unlike anything Sora had seen before. It had an odd sheen to it when the light hit it just right, as if the suit was made from a dark metallic weave. Sora shuddered when he realized how much the suit reminded him of the Heartless. Was it supposed to be a scare tactic? Did it provide the split-second of indecision on the part of the Heartless that the commandos needed to destroy them? Whatever it was, it gave Sora the creeps.

Kairi was unable to distract herself with anything, simply sitting in her seat against the ship's hull, drumming her fingers on her armored knee. To those close to Kairi, the simple habit spoke volumes. She only ever did that when she was nervous, a sensation she hadn't experienced in a very long time. Few situations on Aegis included any kind of real danger. The fact that they had narrowly escaped death less than a day ago did not serve to comfort her at all.

Other than the sound of Kairi's fingers tapping the armor plating of her suit, the ship was absolutely silent. There was no noise from the engines, as they were simply letting their momentum carry them closer to the station. Any firing of the thrusters would show up on the station's defensive sensors, and nobody knew if the Heartless were able to operate the antiaircraft cannons mounted all over the station. It was deemed a risk not worth taking.

Sora turned to look out the front of the cockpit and saw the _Marathon_ taking up most of the view. He could make out individual windows on the station now, along with thick-barreled antiaircraft cannons that, thankfully, appeared to be offline. Sora let out an involuntary sigh of relief. He used similar cannons on some of his Gummi ship designs. They made up for their low rate of fire by packing a serious punch. Sora had seen those guns tear apart entire formations of ships caught unaware. If the Heartless could use them against the approaching boarders, the assault team would be decimated.

A sudden crackle in his helmet speakers made him jump. He didn't recognize the deep, booming voice, but the message it relayed was clear. "_Operation is GO. Green light for SEALS infiltration._"

With that, the ship's occupants quickly made a final check of their equipment and armor. Everything was fully sealed, weapons were loaded, radios worked. Infiltration was the most critical part of the entire operation, and it had to go off without a hitch.

Sora and Kairi's ship slowly drifted into the darkened hangar bay. Only part of it was visible, illuminated by sunlight. The rest was inky blackness. The ship quietly settled onto the deck near the edge of the shadow. One of the pilots hit a switch, and a whooshing noise filled the ship's cabin as the atmosphere was compressed into holding tanks in the wings. The pilot nodded to the back, and one of the SEALS opened the side hatch, peering into the darkness through a pair of goggles attached to his head. After what seemed like an eternity, his voice came over the radio.

"_Infrared clear. Motion clear."_ He ducked back into the ship and waited for his orders.

The deep voice resounded in Sora's helmet again. "_Copy, Lieutenant. Begin infiltration."_

All the SEALS moved as one, rapidly unclipping themselves and exiting the ship. They quickly sought cover among the crates and abandoned ships in the hangar, sweeping the entire area for any sign of the Heartless. Sora and Kairi followed, staying close to the boarding craft. A second ship landed and released its cargo, the men slipping into the darkness like beads of oil on glass.

A silent strobe in the bay's corner caught Sora's attention, and he turned just in time to see the small cloud of dark energy that marked the destruction of a Heartless. He couldn't tell where the shot had come from; the operator responsible had already disappeared into the shadows.

The radio began giving rapid-fire instructions. "_Bays one through six secured. Bays eight, ten, and eleven secured. Bays seven, nine, and twelve report minimal contact. Marine SF squads cleared to land in all secured bays. SEALS squads Alpha through Echo, prosecute objective PROMETHEUS. Squads Foxtrot through Kilo prosecute ZEUS. Do not engage enemy unless absolutely necessary. Keybearers await instruction from General Harris."_

Sora and Kairi followed their instructions, glad that infiltration was going smoothly. Seconds after the first voice disappeared, the familiar sound of General Harris's voice filled the tiny speakers in the Keybearers' helmets.

"_Keybearers are to prosecute objective KRONOS. Do not engage enemy unless attacked first. Upon completion of KRONOS, assist Marine Special Forces in seek-and-destroy."_

Both Keybearers had the entire operation memorized. Objective KRONOS was to retake the _Marathon_'s Command and Control center. It was considered the most untouchable part of any station. Unless they were able to get there undetected, they'd have to run a gauntlet of Heartless.

Kairi elbowed Sora in the side and tapped on her faceplate. Sora assumed she was asking the same question he was. "General Harris, how are we supposed to see in here? The lights-"

"_Light amplification software has been uploaded to your suits remotely. It will engage when you enter an area too dark for visual navigation."_

Shrugging, Kairi stepped into the darkness and was shocked by what she saw. The entire hangar bay suddenly appeared, but not in its normal state. She could see walls and objects around her, but they were covered in a faintly glowing green criss-cross pattern, as though someone had laid a grid over the entire station. It was enough for navigation.

She turned to Sora, who was outlined in gold and had a small Keyblade icon hovering over his chest. Beckoning for him to follow her, she slipped into the darkness, leaving him alone in the light. He cautiously stepped into the shadows. Kairi could tell exactly when his visual assistance activated, because he stumbled backwards and nearly fell onto the metal deck. When his heart rate dropped back to an acceptable level, he joined Kairi and walked silently towards the nearest door.

* * *

Olette was used to seeing Hayner in camouflage; it was his favorite thing to wear when they were kids. Most often he'd wear his ill-fitting camo pants, but he had several shirts and shorts with the iconic pattern. When he'd been conscripted into the Army, it wasn't a big shock for Olette to see him in an entire uniform of green, tan, and black.

Hayner, however, had never gotten used to seeing Olette in a Navy officer's service uniform. The boring tan blouse and trousers didn't seem to fit with the spunky, colorful girl. The only color Hayner could see on the entire thing was on the small campaign ribbons on the left side of the blouse, and they were hardly sufficient in his eyes. Not only that, but Olette _despised_ formal attire, and the uniform looked like it was pushing it a bit. However, she liked it, so Hayner never said a word.

The two young lovers were putting the finishing touches on their uniforms before they were ordered to leave. A similar scene was playing out in millions of homes. All across Aegis, men and women prepared to mount a last stand that would determine the survival of all mankind. They hoped the Heartless would turn back, but they knew that the dark creatures never once left without a brutal fight.

Satisfied that his boots were properly tied, Hayner stood in front of the mirror and turned just a bit. He remembered the day he came home with his current patch. He had spent hours admiring the accomplishment. On his shoulder, there was a jagged lightning bolt with white angelic wings: the insignia of the 14th Urban Operations Division.

The blonde smiled and remembered why he had gotten into that division in the first place. 14th Urban Ops was renowned for their cutting-edge urban combat techniques. Hayner, having grown up roaming the streets of Twilight Town, was used to navigating tight alleys and moving across rooftops. He was a natural at adapting his childhood entertainment to keeping cities clear of Heartless.

The phone rang in the kitchen. Not the caller-ID enhanced black wireless phone they used for day-to-day calls, but the one-way red telephone reserved for official communications. It only rang a few times every year. Usually it was for emergency drills, but both Olette and Hayner knew today was no drill.

Hayner answered the phone, giving his rank and full name. He listened to the automated voice issue pre-recorded orders as part of a world-wide mobilization of all Army troops. After a minute of standing and listening, he hung up the phone, returning to the bedroom. Olette gave him a forced smile.

"What was that?"

Hayner picked up an olive drab rucksack, hoisting it onto his shoulder. "Troop transports are picking up all local troops at the parking lot of Crystal Palace Theaters in an hour. I've got to leave pretty quickly if I'm going to get there on time." He kept a straight face, desperately trying to hide his emotions. "I'm sure your call is coming soon."

No sooner had he said that than the phone rang again. Olette nervously smoothed her uniform and left the room, also trying to keep composure. After a few minutes, she returned, biting her lip in worry.

"Turns out I'm a little luckier than you. Junior officers are gathering at the Sonic Audio company headquarters rooftop downtown. We'll be airlifted by transport helicopters to our duty posts." She flashed a nervous smile. "Better than armored personnel carriers, right?"

"Yeah, it is." Hayner continued to keep a straight face. He shifted his rucksack on his shoulders and stepped towards his fiancée, kissing her lightly. "Goodbye."

"Goodbye." Olette watched silently as Hayner quickly exited the apartment. She ached to run after him and kiss him and tell him how much she loved him and that he had better come back in one piece. But she knew that if she went after him, she wouldn't be able to let go. So she stayed put long enough to let him leave the building.

When she was confident that he was gone, she grabbed her pack and left the apartment, locking the door behind her. It gave her an odd sense of finality to lock that door, as if she wouldn't ever walk back through it. She tried to convince herself it was just nervous paranoia and walked to the elevator.

* * *

Sora crept around the corner, keeping a low profile. On his visor, barely five meters away, a pair of Shadows stood with their backs to him. If he executed his next move perfectly, he could destroy them both without raising suspicion. If not, well… what should have been an infiltration mission would quickly turn into a desperate fight for survival.

He prepared to pounce. Though his armor weighed him down, his chosen method of extermination shouldn't be difficult. A quick horizontal slash would bisect both of the dark creatures without alerting any potential threats in the surrounding halls. Even if something was alerted, Kairi was right behind him, ready to silence anything about to raise the alarm.

The armored gauntlet tightened around the Keyblade's hilt, and he sprung forward, neatly cutting the Shadows in two. As soon as he finished his slash, he brought the Keyblade to bear once more, ready for any unseen enemies. The helmet visor showed no threats, no movement; no threat of any kind. The only thing on his Heads-Up Display was the direction of his objective.

Not that he needed the helmet software to point that out to him. Almost every intersection in the central part of the station had some indication of where the Command and Control center was. For a military installation, the entire place was fairly easy to navigate.

No, the problem was getting into the control room without turning their stealthy insertion into a battle of attrition. The pair of Keybearers had already had one close call with an unusually motivated group of Soldiers. If their helmets hadn't had a proximity warning, they'd be in the middle of a hack-and-slash battle royale. Sora made a mental note to thank General Harris for their suits.

According to his waypoint marker, C&C was 45 meters away. This is where the Air Force intelligence analysts had said things could turn ugly. Until this point, the odds were in favor of staying undetected. From now on, their chances of discovery increased exponentially. Their biggest hope was that the SEALS squads would start distracting the Heartless enough to allow the Keybearers to slip by unnoticed and lock the Heartless out of the control room. If things went according to plan, the naval commandos were only seconds away from their objectives.

Kairi had refused to let Sora be dragged back into the conflict without a backup plan. General Harris had assured her that if they got in over their heads, stealth and caution would be thrown to the wind and the Marines would board immediately. Satisfied that even if they were detected, they would most likely still accomplish their objective, the two Keyblade wielders pressed forward.

They crept through the darkness in formation, ready to jointly attack anything in their way. Halfway to the next intersection, their helmet radios came to life.

"_SEALS squad Gamma in place. Awaiting clearance to prosecute objective ZEUS._"

The deep voice from earlier replied quickly.

"_Copy, Gamma squad. Execute on my mark._"

Five seconds ticked off Sora's mission clock. Then,

"_Mark!_"

To Sora, it seemed anticlimactic. Not only was the SEALS squad was nowhere near him, but they were using suppressed weapons. Still, some small part of him had still expected to hear muffled gunshots or muzzle flashes from their rifles. Instead, the hall was just as dark and silent as before. He tapped Kairi on the shoulder and pointed to a recessed door. The pair slipped into the small alcove and hid, waiting for the SEALS to attract more attention.

Precisely one minute and twenty-one seconds later, the commandos reported in again.

"_Objective secured. Foxtrot and Kilo squads are onsite. No enemy contacts reported. Requesting orders._"

There was a short pause before a reply was given.

"_Hold position until objective PROMETHEUS is captured. Stand by for new orders._"

An insistent alarm sounded in Sora's helmet speakers. He recognized it as the proximity alarm from earlier. On his faceplate, the jerky motions of Shadows moving along the hall were highlighted in red. He tensed himself for combat, but the figures turned down another hall, following the arrows marked POWER CORE. He immediately broadcast a warning to the SEALS.

"Be advised, Gamma squad, hostile contacts heading your way. Over."

"_Copy that, Keybearer. Hostiles inbound. Thanks for the heads-up_."

Sora and Kairi continued down the hallway to the next junction. Everything was dead silent in the dark corridor, even the footfalls of their armored suits. The absolute stillness of their surroundings had desensitized them to the complete lack of noise. Both of their hearts skipped a beat when a massive explosion rocked the corridor under their feet.

The HUD on their visors lit up with motion contacts as Heartless swarmed out of every part of the station. The pair ducked into a recessed door and readied themselves for combat. The Heartless, however, passed the pair by without stopping. All of the black creatures were barreling towards the power core. Several even looked directly at them and simply continued on their way. As if on cue, the helmet radios came to life with an explanation.

"_Gamma squad to Keybearers. We're drawing them away from you. Proceed at top speed to C&C on my mark._"

The swarm of Heartless passing the alcove slowed to a stream, then to a trickle, and then disappeared, a lone Shadow bringing up the rear. Sora and Kairi turned to each other in shock. Sora was first to shake of his speechlessness.

"That… that worked? That _never_ works!" he blurted, wide-eyed. All Kairi could do was shake her head and shrug in surprise.

"_Mark! Move!_"

The Keybearers sprinted from their hiding place towards their last turn before they arrived at the station's brain. They reached the heavy door and radioed their position to the deep-voiced strike commander.

He acknowledged them several seconds later. "_Copy. India squad, activate core._"

The lights flickered on all over the station. In front of the pair of Keybearers, the door controls went through a short diagnostic scan before flashing the red 'lockdown' status symbol on the small display above the palm scanner and keypad.

"_You should be able to open the door now, Keybearers,_" the commander said. "_Now let's get this station back._"

Sora willed his Keyblade to unlock the door. Automatically, it pointed the tip of its blade at the keypad, moving Sora's arm with it. A laser-fine beam emanated from the magical blade, and the display shifted from lockdown-red to green. The metal door hissed and slowly slid into the wall, revealing a darkened room. The pair cautiously walked inside, Keyblades at the ready.

Suddenly, the door slammed shut behind them, plunging the room into total blackness again. The HUD visual enhancements started to activate, but before it had time to display the room, the lights switched on, and Sora and Kairi found themselves staring down the barrels of many, many rifles.

* * *

"Hayner! Good to see you again, dude!"

"Right back at you, Ari." Hayner exchanged a fist bump with his fellow corporal. He and Ari had met in basic training, and they had been in the same squad since then. Though they were in charge of separate fire teams, they rarely strayed from each other in training scenarios. Their tactics were unpopular with the newly-commissioned lieutenant in command of their platoon, but their sergeant thought it was a good idea. As a result, Hayner and Ari stayed together, and the lieutenant didn't say anything.

"It's just too bad this isn't another training mission," Ari said, a wide grin on his dark face. "We're on a roll against Bravo Company. And you owe them for that sleazy bit their captain played on you."

Hayner remembered the incident with a scowl. "Yeah… I remember you nearly fell over laughing at that. Thanks, by the way."

Ari was about to reply, but a loudspeaker cut them off. "_14__th__ Urban, 1__st__ Brigade, 3__rd__ Infantry Battalion, Alpha Company; load onto transports Delta 1-1 through Delta 1-14._"

The pair of corporals picked up their heavy packs and climbed into an armored transport along with their fire teams. Once the entire company was inside the eight-wheeled vehicles, the hatch was closed behind them and the heavy diesel engine rumbled to life, shaking the troops inside. Hayner leaned towards Ari to speak.

"So I heard they're running out of flamethrowers for us grunts. How 'bout that, huh?"

Ari smiled and shook his head. "Only in the Army, man. Only in the Army."

The driver, a senior sergeant, piped in. "They've started issuing those space rifles that the Marines love so much. Stock up on ammo when you get it, because the Corps isn't giving any more than they can get away with."

"Oh, that's perfect. Now we're stuck with Marine equipment," Hayner quipped. All eight soldiers shared in an over-exaggerated groan of disgust before falling into the laughter that an Army grunt only got from making fun of the Marines. The cross-branch rivalry was still alive and well.

A bump rocked the transport, signaling that they had left the road and were moving to a field rally point. Hayner strained to see out the front windscreen. They were approaching a small range of wooded mountains. From many training exercises, Hayner knew that on the other side of the mountains was a desert. The rally point was likely in there, giving lots of space for tanks and helicopters and all sorts of big, mean pieces of machinery.

Ari tried to break the awkward silence that had enveloped the vehicle. "So when was the last time any of you used a full-sized rifle?"

Answers of "At least a year" and "Damn, I don't remember" were the only things he got. Hayner shook his head. "It sure figures that we get the one piece of equipment that we haven't trained on since basic training."

"Hey, you never know," Ari said, "maybe you'll get one with one of those little 4X scopes on it. You can find a hole and do your sniper thing."

"Yeah, like my aim is still that good."

Conversation continued for the next half hour as the column of armored personnel carriers traversed the mountains. When they finally made it to the rally point, the rear door fell open and the two fire teams pounded down the exit ramp. What they saw made them gape in awe.

They had expected to see the familiar Army tanks, trucks, and helicopters. But there were _thousands_. Columns stretched for miles into the desert. Helicopters, both transport and attack, swarmed in the sky.

Ari was the first to respond. "Holy… They really brought out everyone. I see Armored guys, there's some Airborne, some Air Assault, the other Urban is over there, Infantry… There's even a Special Forces group by those choppers."

Hayner shook his head in disbelief. "There must be half the Army here. And check it out," he said, pointing off to their right, "those are Marines. And the Air Force is here. Look at all those damn jets! Even ODN has a few guys here."

The desert was alive with movement. As the pair of corporals made their way to the rest of their unit, they saw members of every branch. Everyone was moving with a sense of urgency unseen in usual mobilizations. One of Hayner's men caught up to him, his face betraying a hint of worry.

"They're really serious, aren't they?"

"Looks that way. What the hell happened to warrant this?"

Ari had to yell to be heard over the roar of helicopters overhead. "Must be the goddamn apocalypse to bring all of these guys way out into the desert like this. Did Sora tell you anything?"

Hayner shook his head. "Haven't heard from him in a couple of days. Not really surprised. He must be hella busy."

"How about our other half? Say anything?"

He shrugged. "She's as confused as me. Probably halfway to her ship by now."

* * *

In fact, Olette was all the way to her ship by the time Hayner reached the rally point. Her helicopter, loaded with other junior officers, had touched down on the deck of the _ADS Javelin_ five minutes ago, and Olette was already at her post, inspecting and arming antiaircraft missiles for the ship's bow batteries. She prided herself on never having a safety violation in her work, and it was more vital than ever today.

The _Javelin _would be part of the defensive network for one of the largest cities on Aegis, populated by fourteen million people. Its primary duty, should it be necessary, was to intercept any Gummi ships the Heartless would use to destroy defensive emplacements around the city while the evacuation was underway. Nobody knew anything for certain, but rumor had it that the Heartless had warped a fleet of unforeseen magnitude from almost two light-years away. Everybody knew that if they went to all the trouble to gather such a huge fleet, they would be bringing the big guns.

But the enemy would run into a meat grinder when they arrived. Even if they managed to get past the orbital platforms and battlegroups, they would find themselves trapped in the planet's gravity well with high-altitude missiles and interceptors slamming them from the moment they entered the atmosphere. The defense of Aegis would, hopefully, be fought miles above the surface.

If the Heartless reached the ground, they would have to contend with the combined forces of Aegis's Army and Marine Corps, which totaled over eighty million troops. Though nobody had successfully fought the Heartless on the ground since the destruction of Organization XIII, nobody had gathered such a massive force before. It was anyone's guess as to who would triumph planetside.

The final fallback option was a total nuclear strike on all known Heartless locations. The civilian shelters were designed to withstand a direct strike for that exact purpose, and the fallout from the modern weapons wouldn't outlast the shelters' supplies. If it meant survival against such a fleet, the people of Aegis were prepared to sacrifice everything they knew.

Olette prayed that she wouldn't hear the alarm signaling the beginning of a nuclear attack. It was the final stand for Aegis, and if it didn't work, the world would fall.

* * *

INCOMING TRANSMISSION

ENCRYPTION SCHEME "ALLOY"

/BEGIN RAPID DECRYPTION… DONE

CONTENTS:

-Sensor Network Hub "SkyEye" PRIORITY TRANSMISSION

WARNING!

WARP ARRIVAL DETECTED!

PROXIMITY: 1500 km

MASS: 720,481,200 kg

COMPOSITION: -98.54% WORLD BARRIER ("GUMMI BLOCK")

CONCLUSION: HEARTLESS GUMMI FLEET

RECOMMENDATIONS:

-ALERT ODN COMMAND IMMEDIATELY

-ALERT AEGIS JOINT FORCES COMMAND

-SCRAMBLE HIGH-ORBIT DEFENSES

-TARGET FLEET CAPITAL SHIPS: PRIORITIZE CENTER OF FORMATION

-EVACUATE CIVILIAN POPULATION FROM CITIES

-LOCK DOWN GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS

CONTACTING ODNCOM… STANDBY…

CONTACT ESTABLISHED. BEGIN RECORDING.

ODNCOM: This is ODN Command. We have you.

SkyEye: WARNING! WARP ARRIVAL DETECTED!

ODNCOM: Send data.

SkyEye: DATA SENDING… SENT.

ODNCOM: What the hell? Are these numbers right? Seven hundred and twenty _million_ kilograms? Holy _shit_! (yelling, aside) Sir! We've got a problem! (indistinct) Huge! Seven hundred and twenty million kilos. Should I contact the station commander nearest to the jump? (indistinct) Aye aye, sir. (also aside) Lieutenant, contact the commander of the _Phoenix_. Alert him to the situation and clear him to fire at will.

SkyEye: ENEMY FLEET WILL BE IN RANGE IN 25 MINUTES.

ODNCOM: Roger, SkyEye. 25 minutes to main cannon range.

SkyEye: 2ND FLEET WILL BE ON STATION IN 41 MINUTES. 5TH FLEET WILL BE ON – WARNING! PROXIMITY ALERT!

ODNCOM: Proximity alert? What's going on?

SkyEye: HIGH-SPEED PROJECTILE INBOUND!

ODNCOM: How is that even possible? The fleet won't be in firing range for their weapons for at least a half an hour. And that's if the orbital-

E8,]!~_r_=&%'x

CONTACT LOST. RETRYING… FAILED.

CONTACTING AEGIS JFC… STANDBY…

WARNING! HIGH-SPEED PROJECTILE INBOUND!

ORIGIN: ODN PLATFORM _Marathon_

BEGIN EVASIVE MANEUVERS

IMPACT IN 5… 4… 3… 2… 1…

-&i/":s\|,~3`#$)(8

eeeeeeeeerxdz DIRECT H_IT

InITaTe?/ FAilSAFe

DETONATE

xz#

* * *

Wow. It's been a long time since I updated this. I mean… a really long time. Holy crap. I am so sorry.

Well, life kinda hit me in the face with a shovel. I finally have time to write again. Okay, that's a lie. I was too busy for 3 months, forgot for 5 months, and just finished this chapter. The next one will not take more than 3 weeks, I _promise_. Such a lapse in updating will not occur again. Thank you for the people who have been so patient with me.

The end is near… and by near I mean next. Let's wrap this up with a bang!


	12. Prelude to War

AN: Well, that wasn't three weeks. My comp crashed right about the time school started, so all the progress I had on this chapter was lost, along with the motivation and time to restart it. Perhaps a blessing in disguise, as I was not very pleased with the first draft. Anyway, long overdue, this is the second to last chapter of Fortress World.

* * *

12. Prelude to War

"_Open fire!_"

The _Marathon_ Control Room exploded with the sharp cracks of gunfire. Every Marine in the room fought the recoil of their weapons to stay on target. Somebody threw a grenade, which exploded directly above the two unknown beings that had entered the Control Room. Smoke from the blast spread through the room, obscuring the Marines' view. They stopped firing, but their rifles never wavered from the target location.

As the smoke cleared, a shimmering hemisphere appeared, hexagonal tiles shimmering ever so faintly. Two armored figures crouched inside, both clutching bladed weapons. A collective wave of realization swept over the room as it became apparent who they had very nearly killed.

Sora lowered his Keyblade and slowly stood, ending his spell. Only his superhuman reflexes, bestowed by his magical blade, saved him and Kairi from the Marines' misguided attack. He looked around the room at the green-armored soldiers. Every one of them had lowered their weapons and was looking towards the back of the room at one soldier. The Heads-Up Display projected on Sora's faceplate identified the Marine in question. _Captain Darrin, Meghan – Aegis Marine Corps – Serv. # 339201458_

Ah. The Marine that Kairi had been coordinating with. What an unexpected and somewhat unpleasant surprise.

Captain Darrin hurriedly made her way down the rising concentric rings of the large room. "Sir! Ma'am! Are you alright?"

Kairi dismissed her Keyblade, unknowingly allaying one of the Captain's fears. "We're fine, Captain. No harm done."

"Ma'am, please accept my apologies, we've been under constant attack-"

"Everything's okay, Marine, we're just-"

"You- you didn't identify yourselves, it was dark, all my troops are on edge-"

"Captain…"

"We've been stuck here without power, we're surrounded-"

Sora firmly grasped Darrin's armored shoulders. "Get a hold of yourself, Marine! What's the situation here?"

Darrin collected herself and led the pair to the top of the room. "We were assigned to defend one of the choke points on board while you were getting the power core back. We were holding that position no problem until, without warning, the Heartless came pouring out of everywhere.

"We abandoned our position when the mounted machine guns ran out of ammo. Coming here was Lieutenant Sievert's idea. It would have been brilliant… if the power hadn't been cut five minutes after we got here. We've been fending off attacks from the Heartless for hours. The only reason we still have ammunition is the emergency armory they put in this room.

"I don't know why the power came back on, but the lights gave away our position. I had them turned off as soon as they came on, and you showed up only seconds afterward. I didn't think there were any humans still on board, which is why I didn't bother to identify you before shooting."

Kairi tapped Sora on the shoulder. "Open a secure line to General Harris. This complicates things a bit." Sora turned away, trying to get a clear frequency. Kairi then addressed Captain Darrin. "We'll take over from here, Captain. There are SEALS boarding teams all over this station. We just got the power core and Primary Fire Control back. I think your work here is just about done, Captain."

Sora cut the transmission to Harris. "Actually, it looks like they're staying for a while. There's no way off this station until the boarding teams move their landing craft, and who knows when that'll be. Captain, just keep them in the defensive positions they've been holding-"

He was cut off by a surprise burst of static in his helmet radio. Everyone in the room could hear the message in their helmet speakers.

"_This is SEALS squad Delta! Fire Control's been sabotaged! Everything's destroyed, the Heartless are everywhere! We're pulling back! Get the boarding craft ready for medevac! We have casualties that need immediate medical attention!_"

Sora's reaction was immediate and confident. "Forget my last order, Captain. I'm taking some of your company with me – we're going to get those SEALS."

* * *

The deck of the _Javelin_ shook as the starboard missile batteries fired the first salvo against the descending Heartless ships. The port batteries followed, sending white streaks reaching to the sky. By the time the fire control center registered hits on the leading ships in the formation, the missiles had climbed well out of view. If everything went according to plan, the 4th Terrestrial Fleet would be able to keep the Heartless from landing nearby at all.

Olette's crew was working at top speed to keep all the batteries firing at top speed. They were setting speed records in every task, and they were just barely outpacing the rate of fire the _Javelin_ could muster. Even with mechanical assistance, though, it was demanding and exhausting work. Every second they got ahead of schedule was another second they could spend fixing the inevitable mistake.

She was checking every step of the process individually, making sure that nothing was done improperly. A mistake here could sink the ship, and the already thinly stretched defensive fleet would lose an irreplaceable asset. So far, there hadn't been a mistake that couldn't be fixed by a simple adjustment. It was a testament to the training regimen Olette had devised that the task at hand was proceeding so smoothly.

Hours passed. There were mistakes, close calls, and injuries all around, but nothing that hadn't been planned for. By the time the replacement team took over, Olette's team had successfully prepared over two hundred missiles. The Heartless Gummi ships hadn't been able to get further than the upper atmosphere before succumbing to the withering barrage of anti-aircraft missiles put forth by the fleet. Word in the mess hall was that the _Marathon_ orbital defense platform had been put out of commission again, so the 4th Fleet was putting up with the most intense offensives. The exhausted crew got a much-needed morale boost in knowing that they were repelling the best the Heartless could throw at them.

Most of the junior officers from the first shift were trying to get some sleep before they were needed again in a few hours. Unlike volunteer navies, the ships of the Aegis Navy had enough sailors to crew each ship with two separate and independent crews for each ship. Though the ships had to be built bigger to accommodate the extra sailors on board, everyone liked being able to rest a decent amount between work cycles.

Olette was no exception. She was in the female junior officers' quarters, readying herself for bed. As she was prepping her second working uniform, she heard a voice behind her.

"We're giving 'em hell, aren't we?"

She turned to see her bunkmate, Lieutenant Junior Grade Holly Calais, stepping into the room. The two had met on the ship, and they had hated each other with a passion. Neither could fully articulate why the other angered them so much, but it was no secret that the two were practically at each other's throats. They were professional enough to keep their ill will suppressed when on duty, but when they weren't, there were no holds barred.

It was four months until Holly overheard Olette talking to another officer about Hayner's annoying habits at home. Having married a similar man, Calais could instantly relate to Olette's complaints. The two started talking, and by the end of their conversation, they mutually decided that they would tolerate each other. By the end of their first tour of duty, they were making travel plans and discussing their significant others'… _shortcomings_ during intimacy.

Olette smiled. "I just load the things. You're the one targeting them."

"Yeah, but thanks to you, I never have an empty chamber. When I push the button, a fully-Olette-certified missile always goes skyward."

"I have good reason to keep up." She looked at the picture of Hayner and her she'd affixed on the wall of her bunk. "The 14th is in the middle of the city."

Holly sighed. "I feel so bad for you." She put her hands on Olette's shoulder. "But don't worry. I'm sure he'll be fine. He always is."

Turning to face her friend, it was Olette's turn to be sympathetic. "At least I get to help protect him. Isn't the 5th all the way on the other side of the continent?"

"Ah, Burke's gonna be fine. That's the good thing about being in Armor – you sit in a great big tank all day and nothing can touch you." Holly sat Olette down on her bunk. "You, Lieutenant, have to get some rest. Don't worry about Hayner. You know as well as I that he's too slippery, even for the Heartless. Remember how you told me he used to run from the cops all the time when you were kids?"

A nostalgic smile slowly crept across Olette's face. "Oh yeah… Heh… That was fun…"

Holly deftly tapped her friend once on the forehead. "Now go to sleep. You're my source of missiles, and you know how cranky I get when I don't get my fix of missiles."

Olette rolled her eyes and flopped unceremoniously onto her side, the rolling of the ship on the sea slowly rocking her to sleep.

* * *

The order had come down from the very highest levels of command to keep the Heartless contained in the city. 2nd and 8th Infantry Battalions covered the northern routes out, 4th Marines were set up in the foothills to the west. Ten minutes ago, elements of the 14th Urban Ops Division were airlifted onto rooftops in the financial district to begin clearing the Heartless that had been bottled up inside. The _Hercules_ Carrier Strike Group was just offshore, launching interceptor aircraft to keep enemy Gummi ships from extracting the trapped monsters or attacking soldiers on the ground. It was up to 14th UO to take the city back.

Hayner's company had been part of the third wave of reinforcements to the initial attackers, so his landing was uneventful. Most of the building had been cleared already, and hunter-killer teams were rooting out the clever Shadows that hid in abandoned closets and offices. Power was out in the downtown area, which meant that everyone had to take all 68 flights of stairs to the ground.

The objective given to Hayner's company was to secure a courtyard 500 meters to the northwest in order to land armored vehicles in the city center. Footsoldiers were sufficient in the close quarters of high-rise offices, but they wouldn't last long against a coordinated attack on the ground.

After climbing down more stairs than ever before in his life, Hayner finally reached the ground floor. Ari was right behind him. They reluctantly checked their rifles, wishing they could have gotten the flamethrowers that they were used to. It would be an interesting fight if the Heartless showed up in significant numbers.

The company commander, a tall, heavily muscled man with dark skin, addressed his troops before sending them out into the fray.

"Alright, boys and girls. It is currently eighteen hundred hours. That courtyard has to be ours before sundown. We're gonna be without air support on this one, so you gotta cover your buddies. The whole damn city is a free-fire zone now. If it moves, _destroy it_. We're about to get a bunch of fuckin' tanks to cover us, so don't worry about conserving ammo.

"Platoon commanders, you have your individual orders. Infantry squads, if you need support, we've got a buncha toys to choose from. Mortars, machine guns, anti-materiel guns… just tell 'em where to point their guns and hold on to your helmets.

"Stay in the open. Don't get too close to the buildings; the little bastards'll jump right out on your heads. Other than that, easy day, soldiers. Let's move out!"

Soldiers poured out of the building, following officers down streets towards the courtyard. Mortar teams set up position several hundred meters away from the courtyard while sniper pairs entered buildings to find a good nest. Hayner and Ari followed the lieutenant in command of their platoon down the center of an abandoned street, avoiding abandoned cars and craters left by air strikes.

The city was eerily dark and quiet. The buildings blocked the sun's light, and there were no lit streetlights to compensate. The only sounds were the pounding of boots on pavement and wind blowing down the streets. Hayner and Ari swept the intersection in front of them with their rifles. Satisfied it was clear, they moved forward. Down the block, he could see another platoon moving along a parallel street. The first man into the intersection stopped in place and brought his rifle to bear, firing three times. The sharp cracks echoed off of the buildings, causing everyone to look around for the source of the shots.

The shooter moved forward with his platoon. As the soldiers continued down the street, they could see the edge of the courtyard that was their destination. Hayner moved to the sidewalk to get a better angle past the edge of the surrounding buildings. He couldn't see anything unusual, but he knew that the Heartless were masters at appearing out of nowhere.

He was about to rejoin his platoon when something landed squarely on top of his head, knocking him to the pavement. His rifle skittered in front of him, far out of reach. He instinctively rolled onto his back to identify his attacker.

A Neoshadow stood over him, claws ready. Hayner's training took over. He reached for his knife and snapped it forward, hoping to sink the blade clean through the menacing figure. It lashed out with a quick kick, knocking the knife out of his hand. The pistol on his hip was his last option. He scrambled backwards, trying to put some distance between himself and the Heartless assaulting him before pulling his sidearm.

There was a concussive _bang_ to Hayner's right, and the Neoshadow dissolved into black wisps of smoke. Ari lowered his rifle's barrel and ran over to pick up his friend.

"There's a reason the CO told us to stay away from the buildings, dumbass! Get up! The courtyard is less than a hundred meters away!"

The pair of soldiers sprinted to the courtyard, catching up to their platoon just as they entered. All the soldiers sighted down their rifles, looking for any sign of marauding Heartless. Satisfied that the area was secure, the lieutenant nodded to his communications sergeant. The sergeant picked up his radio headset and took a knee.

"Devil 2 to Crimeboss. Courtyard secure."

"_Crimeboss Actual to Devil 2. I copy. Moving support squads forward. Airlift birds on standby."_

Squads carrying machine guns moved into the courtyard, setting up their emplacements on brick planters that ringed the open center of the park. Within minutes, the exposed group of soldiers had become a heavily fortified landing zone. It would take serious numbers to uproot the 14th Urban Ops from their courtyard.

"Devil 2 to Crimeboss. Support squads are in place. Ready to receive airlift."

There was a slight pause before the answer. "_Copy that, Devil 2. Birds inbound. Hold tight._"

* * *

Sora and Kairi charged down the corridors of the _Marathon_, determined to rescue the pinned SEALS squad. Stray Hearthless that were unfortunate enough to get in their way were dispatched before they even knew they were in danger. Nothing was going to get in the way of relieving the stranded commandos.

Two platoons of Marines followed them, leaving the other half of Captain Darrin's company to guard the Command and Control Center. The thunder of boots on the steel deckplates resounded through the halls of the distressed station.

They rounded a corner and saw the doors to the Fire Control Center. The heavy alloy doors had been blasted clean off their mountings in the doorway. Black scorch marks covered the walls and deck nearby. Flames issued from panels blown from the wall and smoke drifted across the ceiling, obscuring visibility. Through the door, the sounds of a firefight could be heard as the SEALS fought for their lives.

As they approached the door, Sora threw a stun grenade into the opening. It sailed through the air, detonating with a brilliant white flash and deafening concussive burst. The approaching humans, along with the SEALS, were unaffected, thanks to their environment suits. The Heartless, however, were not so fortunate. They reeled from the disorienting blast, trying to regain their senses.

The fifteen-second advantage given to them by the grenade was all the humans needed to mop up the helpless monsters. Each one disappeared with the characteristic wisp of black smoke. One platoon of Marines followed the few Heartless that had managed to flee into the corridor leading away from the sabotaged room while the rest made sure everything was locked down.

After issuing orders to his men, the squad commander approached Sora. "They were waiting for us here. As soon as we entered, they blew up the main fire control panels and the primary power conduit. We suffered three casualties before you arrived. I've already ordered my men to bring them to our boarding craft for extraction."

The destruction to the equipment in the room corroborated the commander's story. Sora examined the destroyed panels, hoping to find anything useful or undamaged. "Why would they attack here? It's not like we can turn the cannon around and shoot them off the platform."

"I don't know, sir. Perhaps they don't know our systems as well as it seems."

Sora laughed doubtfully. _When has that ever been the case?_

Convinced that the destruction was total, Sora walked to Kairi, who had been tending to some of the SEALS' less severe wounds. She had the look of steely determination on her face that showed whenever she wanted justice. "It looks like they'll make it out alright. The three who went down in the fight will need surgery when they reach the surface. Other than that, there were only a few cuts and a concussion."

Sora nodded. "Good. Let's get back to the Control Room."

Kairi grabbed his arm, stopping him. "Sora, wait. Are you just going to go sit in there again? There's more Heartless all over this station." She stared straight into his eyes. "They nearly killed three people just now while we were standing around doing nothing. We can't just let them keep trying until they actually succeed."

"It's just to find out where we need to cover now that we're down a team. It's only for a few minutes."

"We should be looking around here! The more time we waste, the more lives are in danger. I can't let more people be endangered by going back there."

Sora shook his head. "No, there's more, we need to make sure there weren't other attacks, we need to see if the superstructure was compromised by the explosion, and a hundred different things."

"I thought it would only take fifteen minutes."

"It will. But it needs to happen." He looked back into her eyes. "I know you want to help." Even through her suit, he could see her muscles subtly relax, a sign that he was beginning to calm her. "The best way to do that is to fight smart, and to do that, we need to go to the Control Room."

Kairi exhaled deeply, calming further. "Fine. But I want to get back out here quickly."

Sora nodded. "So do I."


End file.
